DOCUMENTS 
DEPT. 


JOURNAL 


OF      T  H  K 


Mtssottri  State  Cflnfante, 


H  E  LD      IN 


JEFFERSON   CITY, 


,  isea. 


ST.   LOUIS: 

GEORGE  KNAPP  &  CO.,  PRINTERS  AND  BINDERS. 
1862. 


A 


0€PT. 


JOURNAL 


OF     THE 


MISSOURI  STATE  CONVENTION, 


HELD    IN    JEFFEBSON    CITY,    JUNE,    1862. 


FIEST   DAY. 


MONDAY,  June  2,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  in  the  hall  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  at  Jefferson 
City,  in  pursuance  of  the  following  call  of 
the  Hon.  Hamilton  R.  Gamble,  Governor  of 
the  State  of  Missouri : 

"  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,      ) 
City  of  Jefferson,  Missouri.  $ 

The  public  exigencies,  in  my  judgment, 
require  that  the  Convention  of  the  State 
should  be  convened,  as  well  for  the  purpose 
of  dividing  the  State  into  Congressional 
Districts,  so  that  the  number  of  Represent- 
atives to  which  we  are  entitled  may  be  reg- 
ularly elected,  as  for  the  transaction  of 
other  necessary  business :  Therefore,  I, 
HAMILTON  R.  GAMBLE,  Governor  of  the  State 
of  Missouri,  do  call  the  Convention  of  the 
said  State  to  assemble  in  the  Capitol,  in 
the  City  of  Jefferson,  on  the  first  Monday  of 
June  next. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereto  set 
my  hand  and  caused  the  Great  Seal  of  the 
State  to  be  affixed  this  twenty-eighth  day 
of  April,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-two. 

H.  R.  GAMBLE. 

By  the  Governor: 

M.  OLIVER,  Secretary  of  State." 


Mr.  JOHN  H.  SHANKLIN,  member  elect  to 
fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of 
Jacob  T.  Tindall,  of  the  9th  District,  came 
forward,  presented  his  credentials,  and  was 
sworn  in  as  a  member  of  this  Convention. 

The  roll  was  called,  when  the  following 
members  answered  to  their  names  : 

Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckin  ridge,  Broad- 
head,  Brown,  Collier,  Comingo,  Douglass, 
Dunn.  Henderson,  Hitchcock,  How,  How- 
ell,  Jackson,  Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  McCor- 
mack,  McDowell,  Meyer,  Moss,  Orr,  Pome- 
roy,  Ray,  Rowland,  Shanklin,  Smith  of 
St.  Louis,  Stewart,  Waller,  Welch,  Wool- 
folk,  Vanbuskirk,  and  Mr.  President— 33. 

There  being  no  quorum  present,  on  mo- 
tion of  Mr.  Bogy  the  Convention  adjourned 
until  5  o'clock  P.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  ad- 
journment. 

The  roll  being  called,  the  following  ad- 
ditional members  answered  to  their  names  : 

Messrs.  Bush,  Cayce,  Doniphan,  Eitzen, 
Flood,  Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Holmes,  Hud- 
gens,  Irwin,  Isbell,  Jamison,  Kidd,  Marma- 
duke,  Marvin,  Mats  on,  McClurg.  McFerran, 


982232 


Phillips,  Pipkin,  Rankin,  Scott,  Shackel- 
ford  of  St.  L0  Smith  of  L.,  and  Zimmer- 
man— 58. 

There  being  a  quorum  present,  the  Con- 
vention proceeded  to  business  ;  when 

Mr.  ROWLAND  offered  the  following  reso- 
lution, which  was  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  Elder  Thomas  M.  Allen 
be  and  is  hereby  appointed  Chaplain  of 
this  Convention  during  its  present  session. 

Mr.  BROWN  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  was  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this 
Convention  furnish  each  member  thereof 
with  a  copy  of  the  late  census  of  the  State 
of  Missouri. 

The  President  laid  before  the  Convention 
the  following 

MESSAGE    FROM    THE   GOVERNOR. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : 

You  have  again  been  called  together  because 
there  is  no  other  body  in  existence  that  can 
adopt  the  measures  which  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  State  demands. 

In  order  to  a  proper  understanding  of  our 
condition,  and  to  a  judicious  exercise  of  the 
powers  with  which  the  Convention  is  clothed,  it 
may  be  profitable  to  glance  rapidly  at  the  events 
which  have  occurred  within  the  past  year. 

After  the  adjournment  on  the  22d  day  of 
March,  3861,  and  after  you  had  solemnly  ex- 
pressed the  judgment  of  the  people  of  the  State 
that  there  was  no  sufficient  cause  for  disturb- 
ing the  relations  existing  between  the  State 
and  the  United  States,  there  was  manifested  on 
the  part  of  those  exercising  the  executive  and 
legislative  powers  of  the  State  a  persistent  pur- 
pose to  dissolve  our  connection  with  the  Gene- 
ral Government,  and  attach  us  to  what  is  called 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  This  purpose  was 
exhibited  in  acts  tending  to  a  military  collision 
between  the  State  and  General  Government, 
and  finally  produced  the  battle  of  Boonville  on 
the  18th  day  of  June  last. 

From  that  time  the  Governor  fled  before  the 
military  authority  of  the  United  States,  charg- 
ed as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  with  trea- 
son against  his  Government :  other  high  execu- 
tive officers  and  many  of  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  being  implicated  in  the  same  charge 
of  treason,  in  like  manner  fled,  and  abandoned 
their  offices.  Thus  it  happened  that  when  you 
again  assembled,  in  July  last,  you  found  the 
State  Government  in  ruins,  with  no  magistracy 


in  a  condition  to  exercise  the  powers  which  were 
conferred  upon  them  by  the  Constitution,  in  or- 
der to  maintain  the  peace  of  the  State  and  the 
security  of  the  people.  It  was  among  the  wise 
orderings  of  a  kind  Providence  that  the  Con- 
vention should,  at  such  a  crisis,  be  in  existence, 
and  capable  of  meeting  the  emergency.  The 
alternative  was  presented  to  you  of  allowing 
the  State  Government  to  remain  in  ruins,  with 
anarchy  universally  prevailing,  with  no  power 
to  preserve  order,  except  as  it  might  be  exer- 
cised by  a  soldiery  chiefly  from  other  States,  or 
attempting  to  rear  again  the  Government  of 
the  State,  that  the  reign  of  law  might  be  re-es- 
tablished. You  chose  the  latter,  and  organized 
the  Provisional  Government.  Your  power  to 
do  so  cannot  be  successfully  questioned.  The 
necessity  for  your  action  will  be  admitted  by 
every  person  who  understands  what  was  then 
the  condition  of  the  State,  and  the  wisdom  of 
your  action  would  seem  to  be  established  by 
the  improvement  that  has  since  taken  place  in 
our  condition. 

If  we  look  back  to  the  time  of  establishing 
the  Provisional  Government,  we  will  see  such 
a  state  of  affairs  as  might  well  have  justified  a 
feeling  of  despondency  as  to  the  restoration  of 
peace  and  order.  Civil  war  was  fully  inaugu- 
rated ;  the  popular  mind  was  greatly  inflam- 
ed j  disregard  of  law  universally  reigned ; 
there  was  no  military  force  to  enforce  law  and 
preserve  order ;  there  were  no  arms  belonging  to 
the  State  to  put  into  the  hands  of  a  military  force 
if  we  had  had  one ;  there  was  no  money  in  the 
treasury  with  which  to  purchase  arms  or  subsist 
soldiers ;  there  was  no  State  credit  upon  which 
to  raise  money  ;  and,  moreover,  a  very  large  ma- 
jority of  all  the  public  offices  of  the  State  were 
in  the  hands  of  persons  hostile  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  sympathizing  with 
those  engaged  in  the  rebellion,  and  opposed  to 
your  attempt  to  restore  peace.  Under  such 
circumstances,  it  was  not  surprising  that  some 
should  have  despaired  of  the  success  of  the  ex- 
periment to  restore  a  quick  and  peaceful  admin- 
istration of  the  State  Government.  Yet  it  was 
the  only  hope  that  was  left  to  those  who  really 
desired  to  preserve  the  State  Government  in  ac- 
tual operation. 

In  order  to  prepare  a  force  to  preserve  the 
peace  of  the  State,  a  call  was  made  for  forty- 
two  thousand  volunteers,  on  the  24th  of  August 
last,  to  serve  six  months.  After  this  call  was 
made,  many  hindrances  were  thrown  in  the 
way  of  its  being  answered.  Officers  and  men  be- 
longing to  regiments  in  the  service  of  the  United 


States,  depreciated  the  State  service  by  repre- 
senting the  utter  uncertainty  of  the  men  ever 
receiving  either  their  pay,  clothing,  or  subsis- 
tence. These  representations  were  made,  not 
only  by  persons  raising  troops  as  Missouri  vol- 
unteers, but  by  others  who  were  in  regiments 
belonging  to  other  States,  who  desired  to  swell 
their  own  ranks.  Unfortunately  the  real  state 
of  facts  gave  too  much  color  of  truth  to 
these  representations,  and  rendered  them  the 
more  effectual  hindrances  to  the  raising  the 
number  of  volunteers  called  for.  Still,  more 
than  six  thousand  men  volunteered,  and  were 
organized  into  battalions  and  regiments,  under 
the  act  of  1859,  which  had  been  re-enacted  by 
the  Convention. 

As  the  recruiting  advanced,  the  difficulty  of 
providing  arms  and  subsistence  became  more 
apparent,  and  as  applications  to  the  Command- 
ing General  of  the  Department  for  arms  were 
unavailing,  it  became  necessary  to  have  a  per- 
sonal conference  with  the  authorities  at  Wash- 
ington. By  such  conference,  arms  were  ob- 
tained, and  the  sum  of  $200,000  was  advanced 
by  the  United  States,  out  of  an  appropriation 
made  in  July  last  for  the*purpose  of  aiding  the 
loyal  citizens  in  States  where  rebellion  existed. 
With  this  comparatively  small  sum,  the  attempt 
was  to  be  made  to  provide  the  absolute  neces- 
saries required  by  the  troops,  particularly  the 
articles  which  could  be  purchased  only  with 
cash.  And  it  is  proper  here  to  bear  testimony 
to  the  patient  fortitude  with  which  they  bore 
the  privations  to  which  they  were  subjected. 
It  was  plainly  impossible  to  supply  them  out 
of  this  sum  with  the  full  allowance  to  which 
soldiers  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  are 
entitled,  and  it  became  indispensably  necessary 
to  practice  the  greatest  economy  in  order  to 
provide  them  even  with  indispensable  neces- 
saries. One  of  the  most  painful  duties 
was  to  be  obliged  to  listen  to  the  recital  of 
their  wants,  with  the  knowledge  that  they 
could  not  be  promptly  met.  As  the  period  ap- 
proached at  which  they  ought  to  be  paid,  the 
difficulty  of  meeting  their  reasonable  demands 
for  pay  was  to  be  met.  Your  ordinance,  pass- 
ed at  the  October  session,  provided  for  meeting 
the  expense  of  the  whole  force,  by  authorizing 
the  issue  of  Defence  Warrants,  not  to  exceed  a 
million  of  dollars.  This  measure  relieved  the 
Executive  from  the  apprehension  of  immediate 
embarrassment,  but  was  inadequate  to  the  full 
support  of  any  considerable  force  for  a  long 
pt-nod.  It  was  plainly  necessary  that  some 
more  permanent  provision  should  be  made  in 


order  to  make  the  force  large  enough  TO  be  ef- 
ficient, and  at  the  same  time  free  the  State 
treasury  from  a  burden  it  could  not  bear. 

In  order  to  accomplish  this  end,  another  per- 
sonal conference  was  sought  with  the  President, 
and,  as  the  result,  an  arrangement  was  effected 
under  which  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  undertook  to  bear  all  the  expense  of  a 
military  force  to  be  raised  for  the  defence  of 
the  State  during  the  war,  to  be  organized  in  the 
manner  provided  for  the  organization  of  the 
volunteers  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
It  was  thought  that  this  arrangement  would  be 
at  once  received  by  the  troops  already  in  the 
service  of  the  State  as  a  guarantee  of  future, 
certain  and  regular  subsistence  and  pay,  and 
that  they  would  promptly  embrace  the  propo- 
sition to  organize  under  it.  But  as  they  were 
already  entitled  to  pay  which  they  had  not  re- 
ceived, and  as  many  of  them  could  not  leave 
their  families  to  serve  in  distant  parts  of  the 
State  during  the  war,  it  was  found  that  they 
hesitated  to  engage  in  the  new  service. 

It  was  apparent  that  to  have  two  classes  of 
troops  at  the  same  time  in  the  service  of  the 
State,  one  supported  and  paid  by  the  United 
States  and  the  other  by  the  State,  would  pro- 
duce endless  confusion  and  difficulty.  The  ex- 
pense of  the  force  organized  under  the  act  of 
1859  was  greatly  enhanced  by  the  great  pro- 
portion of  officers  allowed  for  the  number  of 
men  enlisted  as  privates.  It  was,  therefore, 
judged  necessary  to  the  interest  of  the  State  and 
of  the  service,  to  pay  off  the  six  months'  men 
and  disband  them,  in  order  that  those  who  could 
serve  for  the  war  might  engage  in  the  force 
about  to  be  raised  and  supported  at  the  expense 
of  the  United  States. 

The  arrangement  made  with  the  President 
gave  an  impetus  to  the  enlistment  of  volunteers, 
but  a  construction  was  given  to  the  agreement 
which  required  a  whole  company  of  eighty  three 
men  to  be  raised  before  the  men  could  be  sub- 
sisted, clothed  and  paid  by  the  United  States. 
Although  there  had  been  received  from  the 
United  States  an  additional  sum  of  $250,000, 
it  became  apparent  that  this  money  would  soon 
be  consumed  in  furnishing  subsistence  and 
clothing  to  recruits  until  each  company  was 
ready  to  be  mustered  into  service  with  eighty- 
three  men.  1^  became  necessary,  therefore,  to 
have  again  a  personal  conference  with  the  au- 
thorities at  Washington,  in  order  to  have  the 
agreement  carried  out  in  its  true  spirit.  This 
was  effected,  and  the  men  were  ordered  to  be 
mustered  into  service  singly  as  they  were 


6 


recruited,  and  to  receive  their  subsistence  and 
clothing  at  once  from  the  proper  officers  of  the 
United  States. 

When  the  military  service  of  the  State  was 
placed  upon  this  basis,  it  was  immediately  ap- 
parent that  all  difficulty  in  raising  an  adequate 
force  was  removed.  Authorities  to  raise  regi- 
ments and  companies,  and  to  raise  recruits 
generally,  were  given  out,  and  all  was  progress- 
ing well  when  Congress  interposed  and  limited 
the  number  to  be  paid  to  ten  thousand  men. 
Orders  had  to  be  issued  to  stop  recruiting,  but 
as  the  returns  came  in  it  has  been  found  that 
we  have  more  than  twelve  thousand  men,  and 
it  remains  to  be  known  whether  Congress  will, 
with  the  liberality  which  has  characterized  the 
conduct  of  the  Executive  Department  towards 
us,  provide  for  the  payment  of  this  excess. 
When  the  order  to  stop  recruiting  was  issued, 
it  found  fragments  of  regiments  which  had  to 
be  consolidated,  often  requiring  several  to  make 
a  complete  regiment.  This  necessity,  of  course, 
produced  dissatisfaction  among  persons  who 
had  expected  to  command  regiments,  but  found 
themselves  reduced  to  lower  field  officers  in  the 
consolidated  regiments.  The  duty  of  making 
the  consolidation,  however,  was  unavoidable. 
There  are  now  fifteen  regiments  and  two  bat- 
talions, with  two  batteries  of  artillery  in  the 
field,  all  fully  equipped  and  armed,  ready  to 
serve  in  any  portion  of  the  State  where  an  en- 
emy may  appear.  The  men  are  our  own  peo- 
ple. The  officers  are  chiefly  selected  from  our 
own  citizens,  and  as  all  will  be  held  respon- 
sible for  wrongs  committed  upon  the  people  of 
the  State,  there  is  every  reason  to  anticipate  that 
the  rights  of  the  people  will  be  respected. 

It  was  a  part  of  the  arrangement  made  with  the 
President  that,  in  order  to  preserve  unity  of 
command,  the  Major  General  of  the  Depart- 
ment should  be  commissioned  Major  General  of 
the  State  militia.  Maj.  Gen.  Halleck  is,  there- 
fore, the  Major  General  of  the  Missouri  State 
Militia.  The  immediate  command  has  been  by 
him  turned  over  to  Brigadier  General  Schofield, 
of  the  volunteer  service,commissioned  Brigadier 
of  the  State  troops.  He  is  a  regularly  educa- 
ed  and  talented  officer  of  the  Army  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  distinguished  in  actual  service,  and 
has  rendered  to  the  State  very  valuable  assis- 
tance in  organizing  our  forces  and  selecting  the 
officers. 

The  other  Brigadiers  of  the  State  militia  are 
Gen.  Loan,  Gen.  Totten,  and  Gen.  Brown,  all 
of  whom  have  been  selected  on  account  of 
their  qualifications  to  command  forces  within 


the  State.  Gen.  Totten  is  known  to  the  coun- 
try as  an  officer  of  the  regular  army,  who  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  an  officer  of  artillery  at 
the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek. 

Considering  the  extent  of  the  country  to  be 
covered,  the  force  is  small,  but  they  are  capa- 
ble of  rapid  movement,  and  can  be  soon  con- 
centrated wherever  they  are  required. 

This  is  given  as  a  brief  but  sufficient  state- 
ment of  what  has  been  done  to  provide  a 
military  force  for  the  preservation  of  the  peace 
and  order  of  the  State,  and  it  would  be  wrong 
to  conclude  it  without  expressing  a  high  sense 
of  the  obligations  we  are  under  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  for  the  promptitude 
and  liberality  with  which  our  most  pressing 
wants  have  been  supplied. 

In  paying  the  troops  that  have  been  called 
into  service  for  six  months,  and  in  defraying 
the  expenses  incurred  in  the  support  of  that 
force,  there  has  been  issued  to  the  disbursing 
officers  the  sum  of  $720,000  in  Defence  War- 
rants, and  there  will  have  to  be  issued  a  further 
amount,  which  may  swell  the  aggregate  to 
$775,000.  The  amount  in  circulation  has 
already  been  reduced  $100,000,  by  receipts 
into  the  Treasury  for  the  taxes  of  1861  from 
only  forty-one  counties.  It  will,  therefore,  be 
seen  that  the  whole  amount  issued  will  very 
soon  be  absorbed.  Most  unfortunately  for  the 
men  who  received  this  paper  for  their  services, 
efforts  were  too  successfully  made  to  depreciate 
it,  as  well  by  those  who  were  opposed  to  the 
Government,  as  by  those  who  sought  only  their 
own  profit  by  speculating  in  it.  Thus,  at  one 
time,  it  fell  to  seventy  cents  on  the  dollar, 
and  afterwards  rose  to  eighty  and  eighty-five. 
Yet  its  ultimate  redemption  is,  in  fact,  better 
secured  than  that  of  any  bank  paper  in  the  State, 
because  it  is  receivable  in  payment  of  taxes — 
when  the  taxes  of  a  single  year  would  absorb 
it  all ;  and  it  has  a  specific  collateral  security 
oi  bank  stock  pledged  to  its  redemption.  And, 
moreover,  the  debt,  was  incurred  in  doing  what 
the  United  States  Government  was  bound  to  do 
— that  is,  in  defending  the  State  against  those 
who  were  in  insurrection  against  that  Govern- 
ment, and  therefore  that  Government  is  bound 
to  bear  the  burden  of  this  debt.  This,  no  doubt, 
will  be  attended  to  by  the  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  State  in  Congress.  Under 
such  circumstances,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  soldiers  to  whom  the  paper  was  issued 
have  been  obliged  by  their  necessities  to  submit 
to  the  extortion  of  money-changers. 

Turning  now  to  the  financial  condition  of  the 


State,  we  find  that  the  Provisional  Government 
commenced  with  a  prospect  as  little  flattering 
as  could  well  be  conceived. 

There  was  so  small  a  sum  in  the  Treasury, 
and  it  subject  to  previous  appropriations,  that 
it  is  right  to  call  the  Treasury  empty.  Our 
credit  was  gone,  because  we  had  already  failed 
to  pay  our  July  interest.  The  sheriffs  of  counties 
rather  than  attempt  to  collect  the  taxes  of  last 
year,  were  resigning  their  offices,  and  such  was 
the  state  of  the  country  that  there  appeared  but 
little  ground  to  hope  that  money  sufficient  would 
be  collected  to  carry  on  the  government.  Even 
now,  after  quiet  has  been  restored  in  a  large 
part  of  the  State,  the  Auditor  reports  that  but 
in  forty-one  counties  have  the  Sheriffs  receipted 
for  the  tax  books  of  1861.  These  are  charge- 
able with  revenue  to  the  amount  of  $604,220, 
and  they  have  paid  in  $253,386.  Besides  this 
sum,  there  has  been  received  for  licenses  from 
St.  Louis  county,  $26,038,  making  an  aggregate 
of  receipts  for  the  taxes  of  1861,  of  $279,425. 
Of  the  amount  paid  into  the  Treasury,  about 
$100,000  has  been  paid  in  Defence  Warrants. 

Although  it  is  impossible  to  present  to  you 
an  accurate  statement  of  the  amount  of  uncol- 
lected  taxes  for  the  year  1861,  it  will  be  seen 
that  it  must  be  very  large,  when  from  the  forty- 
one  counties  in  which  the  Sheriffs  have  received 
the  tax  books,  $350,834  remains  to  be  paid  into 
the  Treasury,  and  there  are  seventy-three 
counties  in  which  the  collection  has  not  yet 
been  attempted. 

As  it  is  unknown  how  far  the  Convention 
will  feel  itself  required  to  deal  with  the  financial 
questions  that  belong  to  ordinary  legislation, 
no  scheme  of  action  will  be  submitted  here  with 
a  view  to  expedite  the  collection  of  the  revenue 
due  the  State.  The  officers  in  the  different 
counties  are  finding  it  more  easy  to  make  col- 
lections as  the  peace  of  the  country  becomes 
better  established;  and  while  there  are  still 
many  counties  in  which  officers  have  not  been 
appointed,  because  in  their  disturbed  condition 
no  suitable  persons  have  been  recommended, 
yet  the  number  is  slowly  diminishing,  and  with 
the  restoration  of  quiet  will  begin  the  collection 
of  revenue. 

The  Auditor  will  report  to  you  the  state  of 
the  finances,  and  will  make  such  suggestions 
as,  in  his  opinion,  are  important  in  relation  to 
the  revenue. 

You  will  see  from  this  brief  statement,  that 
the  Provisional  Government  is  not  in  a  worse 
condition,  financially,  than  when  it  was  estab- 
lished. It  is  true  that  another  instalment  of 


interest  upon  our  bonds  has  become  due  and 
is  unpaid;  but  it  may  be  assumed  that  the 
holders  of  our  bonds  have  not  expected  us 
to  pay  the  interest  when  the  tide  of  war  was 
rolling  over  our  State,  and  that  they  will  not 
find  in  our  failure  to  pay,  under  such  circum- 
stances, any  reason  to  doubt  our  purpose  to  pay 
ultimately.  % 

Your  ordinance,  passed  at  your  October 
session,  vacating  the  offices  of  those  who 
refused  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  therein 
prescribed,  has  occasioned  numerous  changes 
among  the  holders  of  offices.  There  still  re- 
main many  offices  to  be  filled,  as  the  progress 
in  obtaining  information  about  persons  suitable 
to  be  appointed  has  been  in  some  parts  of  the 
State  very  slow. 

So  far  as  is  known,  the  appointments  have 
given  general  satisfaction,  and  there  is  reason 
to  hope  that  the  interests  of  the  State  have  not 
suffered  by  the  change. 

There  is  an  ambiguity  in  this  ordinance  which 
would  now  require  too  much  time  to  state,  but 
which  will  need  a  short  explanatory  ordinance. 
The  matter  will  be  brought  to  the  attention  of 
some  one  of  jrour  committees. 

In  this  glance  at  the  principal  operations  of 
the  Provisional  Government,  it  is  hoped  that 
you  will  find  the  result  to  be  that  much  good 
and  no  evil  has  been  done,  either  to  the  people  or 
to  the  principles  of  Constitutional  Government. 

In  the  largest  part  of  the  State,  courts  of 
justice  are  open,  and  the  law  regularly  admin- 
istered. The  people  are  generally  pursuing 
their  ordinary  vocations  in  peace  and  security, 
and  confidence  is  being  gradually  though  slowly 
restored. 

It  is  (rue  that  in  some  parts  of  the  State  there 
are  yet  disturbances,  and  crimes  the  most  brutal 
are  perpetrated  by  outlaws,  who  would  fain 
conceal  the  base  character  of  their  enormities 
by  calling  them  guerrilla  warfare.  They  can 
propose  to  themselves  no  end  but  the  gratifica- 
tion of  a  fiendish  malignity.  Certainly  neither 
patriotism  nor  humanity  can  sanction  their 
conduct.  It  is  believed  that  a  sufficient  force 
is  provided  to  compel  them  to  peace. 

Although  our  State  has  been  visited  by  a  class 
of  troops  who  came  with  feelings  of  hostility 
to  our  people  and  to  our  institutions,  and  who, 
under  the  guise  of  supporting  the  Union,  per- 
petrated enormous  outrages  upon  our  citizens, 
yet  successful  measures  have  been  adopted  for 
the  security  of  our  people  and  for  the  removal 
of  such  troops,  so  as  to  relieve  us  from  their 
presence  in  the  future. 


8 


The  thought  has  often  presented  itself,  sug 
gested  by  the  conduct  of  such  troops,  that  i 
the  armies  which  have  marched  over  every  par 
of  our  State  had  come  into  and  marched  through 
it   as  through  a  country  that  was  altogether 
hostile,  we  should  have  found  ourselves  now  in 
a  country  altogether  desolated. 

But  i^may  be  ascribed  to  the  Convention 
and  to  the  kindness  of  a  controlling  Providenci 
using  the  Convention,  that,  although  the  State 
has  suffered  greatly,  it  has  not  been  entirely 
ruined. 

And  if  the  effort  to  restore  the  State  Govern- 
ment should  be  entirely  successful,  and  peace 
and  prosperity  once  more  should  be  established 
in  the  State,  the  praise  will  be  given  by  a  happy 
people,  first  to  God  who  rules  all  nations,  and 
under  Him  to  the  patriotism  and  wisdom  of  the 
Convention  which  He  has  employed. 

But  the  work  is  not  yet  completed,  and  still 
demands  that  all  the  wisdom  and  energy  of  all 
the  true  friends  of  the  State  should  be  employed 
in  harmonious  counsel  and  united  action  in 
building  up  and  cementing  the  fabric  we  are 
laboring  to  rear.  It  would  be  most  disastrous 
if  the  laborers  engaged  in  this  patriotic  work 
should  allow  themselves  to  be  diverted  from 
their  undertaking  by  anything  that  will  distract 
their  attention  or  diminish  their  energy. 

In  the  call  under  which  you  are  now  assem- 
bled, one  subject  is  mentioned  as  requiring 
your  action — that  is,  dividing  the  State  into 
Congressional  Districts. 

We  are  entitled  to  nine  Representatives  in 
the  next  Congress,  and  it  is  required  that  they 
should  be  elected  by  districts. 

In  these  times  of  extreme  ultraism,  our  Rep- 
resentatives should  appear  in  the  House, 
as  elected  in  such  manner  as  to  be  entitled  to 
their  seats  without  question.  It  is  true  that  on  a 
former  occasion  of  increase  in  our  Congres- 
sional representation,  the  General  Assembly 
adopted  a  plan  of  electing  the  additional  mem- 
bers without  there  having  been  new  districts 
provided  for  them  before  the  general  election. 
But  in  present  circumstances,  it  is  not  prudent 
to  leave  any  question  of  their  right  open  to 
discussion. 

It  is  altogether  questionable  whether  our  plan 
of  electing  members  of  Congress,  some  seven- 
teen months  before  they  ordinarily  take  their 
seats,  is  wise. 

In  times  like  the  present,  when  new  and 
startling  questions  are  frequently  arising,  the 
Representative  who  may  be  elected  in  August, 
1862,  may  find  all  the  questions  with  reference 


to  which  he  was  elected,  settled  when  he  takes 
his  seat  in  December,  1863,  and  that  new  and 
more  momentous  issues  have  arisen  since  his 
election,  upon  which  his  constituents  have  not 
expressed  their  will. 

Although  it  is  time  that,  upon  an  extraordi- 
nary occasion,  Congress  may  be  called  so  as  to 
require  his  attendance  before  the  first  Monday 
in  December,  yet  such  are  exceptional  cases, 
and  do  not  affect  the  principle  that  the  Repre- 
sentative ought  to  be  chosen  because  of  the 
conformity  of  his  opinions  to  those  of  his  con- 
stituents upon  the  questions  upon  which  he  is  to 
act. 

There  are  other  strong  objections  to  our  time 
of  electing  members  of  Congress,  but  as  it  is 
not  intended  to  make  any  recommendations 
upon  this  subject,  time  will  not  be  occupied  in 
stating  them. 

In  your  ordinance,  passed  at  your  July  ses- 
sion, establishing  the  Provisional  Government, 
it  was  provided  that  an  election  of  executive 
officers  should  be  held  in  November^  and  that 
at  that  election  a  vote  should  be  taken  upon 
the  question,  whether  your  action  in  establish- 
ing such  government  should  be  ratified.  The 
vote  was  subsequently  postponed  until  the  gen- 
eral election  in  next  August. 

It  is  submitted  for  your  consideration, 
whether  that  part  of  the  ordinance  ought  not 
to  be  annulled. 

More  than  30,000  of  our  people  are  volun- 
teers in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  most 
of  the  number  being  out  of  the  State.  Their 
voice  should  be  heard  on  a  question  so  vitally 
affecting  their  State,  and  yet  it  has  been  found 
that  all  votes  in  military  camps,  taken  under 
aws  that  have  directed  such  votes,  have  afford- 
ed opportunities  for  imposition,  which  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  guard  against.  It  is 
clearly  right  that  the  voice  of  this  class  of  citi- 
zens should  be  heard,  but  to  take  their  votes  in 
distant  camps  involves  too  much  of  imposition 
o  be  attempted. 

There  is  another  consideration  of  the  greatest 
moment.  The  question  to  be  voted  upon  is, 
under  existing  circumstances,  not  a  question 
>etween  the  Provisional  Government  and  some 
other  administration  of  the  State  Government, 
>ut  between  the  Provisional  Government  and 
10  government  at  all  j  for  every  person  knows 
hat  the  former  executive  officers  would  be 
mmediately  arrested  for  treason  if  they  came 
within  reach  of  the  officials  of  the  United  States. 
After  the  Provisional  Government  has  been  in 


operation  for  a  year  no  such  question  ought  to 
be  considered  open  to  discussion. 

Whether  you  should  think  it  necessary  or 
not  to  require  any  oath  of  loyalty  as  a  general 
qualification  for  all  voters  at  the  approaching 
August  election,  it  is  submitted  to  you  as  a  mat- 
ter demanding  your  action,  that  an  oath  of  of- 
fice beyond  that  prescribed  by  the  Constitution 
should  be  required  of  all  persons  who  may  be 
elected  to  office.  The  oath  prescribed  by  the 
Constitution  is  so  general,  that,  though  its 
terms,  when  rightly  understood,  comprehend 
the  great  duties  of  a  citizen  to  his  Government, 
yet  it  fails  to  impress  the  minds  of  those  who 
take  it  with  a  clear  idea  of  the  obligation  it 
imposes. 

Again,  the  oath  thus  prescribed  is  altogether 
prospective  in  its  requirements,  but  the  State 
should  be  protected  against  persons  who  have 
in  the  past  been  unfaithful. 

These  are  the  subjects  which  at  this  tim« 
most  require  your  attention. 

H.  JR.  GAMBLE. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  HALL  of  B.,  the  mes- 
sage was  laid  on  the  table,  and  two  hundred 
copies  ordered  to  be  printed  for  the  use  of 
the  Convention. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK  offered  the  following  res- 
olutions : 


Resolved,  That  the  following  committees 
be  appointed  by  the  Convention  to  take  into 
consideration  the  suggestions  made  by  the 
Governor,  to-wit : 

1st.  A  Committee  on  Elections  and 
Elective  Franchise,  to  consist  of  five  mem- 
bers. 

2d.  A  Committee  on  Congressional  Dis- 
tricts, to  consist  of  nine  members. 

3d.  A  Committee  on  Finance,  to  consist 
of  five  members. 

4th.  A  Committee  on  the  State  Constitu- 
tion, to  consist  of  five  members. 

5th.  A  Committee  on  the  Militia,  to  con- 
sist of  five  members. 

Mr.  WELCH  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment, which  was  adopted : 

Strike  out  the  words  "the  Convention" 
and  insert  the  words  "the  President." 

Mr.  HOWELL  offered  the  following  as  a 
substitute,  which  was  rejected  : 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  five  be 
appointed  to  take  into  consideration  and 
report  such  Committees  as  may  be  neces- 
sary for  this  Convention. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ZIMMERMAN,  the  Con- 
vention adjourned  until  to-morrow  morn- 
ing at  9  o'clock. 


SECOND    DAT. 


TUESDAY  MORNING,  June  3,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment. 

Prayer  by  the  Chaplain,  Mr.  ALLEN. 

The  PRESIDENT  announced  the  following 
members  as  composing  the  Committees  un- 
der the  resolution  of  Mr.  Hitchcock,  adopt- 
ed on  yesterday : 

Congressional  Districts — Messrs.  Broad- 
head,  Rowland,  Doniphan,  Henderson,  Orr, 
Phillips,  How,  Woolfolk,  and  Bogy. 

Militia— Messrs.  Stewart,  McClurg,  Jack- 
son, Leeper,  and  Jamison. 

Elections  and  Elective  Franchise—Messrs. 
McFerran,  Hitchcock,  Howell,  Vanbuskirk, 
and  Rankin. 


State  Constitution — Messrs.  Hall  of  B., 
Breckinridge,  Welch,  Moss,  and  Pomeroy. 

Finance — Messrs.  Douglass, Marvin,  Col- 
lier, Dunn,  and  Zimmerman. 

Mr.  STEWART  offered  the  following,  which 
was  read  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Elective  Franchise : 

Resolved,  That  all  men,  whether  civil- 
ians or  soldiers,  who  have  been  found  in 
arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  all  neutrals  who  have  given 
them  aid  or  comfort,  be  disqualified  to 
vote. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS  presented  a  petition  from 
citizens  of  Moniteau  county,  praying  the 
passage  of  an  ordinance  disqualifying  from 


10 


voting  for  twenty-one  years  all  persons  who 
have  not  always  been  true  and  loyal  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  Government. 

Mr.  EITZEN  offered  the  following  ordi- 
nance, which  was,  on  motion,  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Elections  : 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  in  Convention  assembled : 
That  an  act  passed  on  March  8th,  1861, 

concerning  the  election  of  County  Court 

Justices  in  Gasconade  county,  be  and  the 

same  is  hereby  repealed. 

Mr.  SCOTT  offered  the  following  ordinance, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Elections : 

Be  it  ordained^  by  the  People  of  the  State 

of  Missouri^  as  follows : 

1st.  Before  any  person  shall  be  allowed 
to  vote  at  any  election  within  this  State, 
they  shall  be  required  to  take  the  following 
oath — "You  do  solemnly  swear  that  you 
have  not  taken  up  arms  against  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  nor  the  Pro- 
visional Government  of  this  State,  nor  giv- 
en aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  either  : 
so  help  you  God." 

2d.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  judges  of 
election  within  this  State,  or  any  one  of 
them,  to  administer  said  oath;  and  any 
judges  neglecting  or  refusing  to  administer 
said  oath,  when  required  so  to  do,  or  who 
shall  allow  any  person  to  vote  who  has  not 
taken  said  oath,  shall,  on  conviction,  be 
adjudged  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  in  office 
and  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  one 
hundred  dollars,  or  imprisoned  in  the 
county  jail  not  less  than  two  months. 

3d.  Any  person  falsely  taking  said  oath, 
shall,  on  conviction,  be  adjudged  guilty  of 
perjury,  and  punished  accordingly  as  now 
provided  by  law. 

4th.  All  persons  holding  any  civil  office 
in  this  State  shall  be  required  to  take  the 
oath  in  the  first  section  of  this  ordinance  . 
and  any  civil  officer  neglecting  or  refusing 
to  take  said  oath  for  twenty  days  after  the 
passage  of  this  ordinance,  his  or  their  office 
is  hereby  declared  vacant. 

5th.  Said  oath  may  be  administered  by 
any  person  authorized  to  administer  an 
oath;  but  all  State  officers,  State,  Circuit 


and  County  Clerks  and  Sheriffs,  shall  cause 
their  affidavits  to  be  filed  in  the  office  of 
the  Secretary  of  State,  duly  certified  by 
the  officer  administering  the  same,  and  the 
certificate  of  the  County  Clerk  as  to  their 
official  character,  within  the  time  prescribed 
by  the  fourth  section  of  this  ordinance. 

6th.  All  officers  not  mentioned  in  the  first 
section  of  this  ordinance  shall  file  their 
affidavit  in  the  County  Clerk's  office  of 
their  respective  counties. 

7th.  The  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  sections 
of  this  ordinance  shall  apply  to  all  persons 
who  may  hereafter  be  elected  or  appointed 
to  any  civil  office  within  this  State,  except 
that  they  shall  be  required  to  comply  with 
the  requirements  of  said  sections  within 
twenty  days  after  their  election  or  appoint- 
ment ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Coun- 
ty Clerks  to  notify  the  Governor  of  all 
officers  who  have  not  complied  with  said 
sections  within  their  counties,  whose  duty 
it  shall  be  to  fill  said  vacancy  by  appoint- 
ment. 

8th.  The  Legislature  of  this  State  may 
modify,  amend  or  repeal  this  ordinance 
whenever  in  their  judgment  they  may  deem 
it  expedient. 

Mr.  McCoRMACK  offered  the  following  re- 
solution, which  was  read,  and  on  his  mo- 
tion referred  to  the  Committee  on  Militia  : 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  in  Convention  assembled)  That 
all  soldiers  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  in  compliance  with  a  call 
of  the  Governor  of  this  State  made  August 
24th,  1861,  and  who  shall  have  been  hon- 
orably discharged  by  reason  of  physical 
disability  existing  prior  to  such  enlistment, 
shall,  according  to  rank,  be  entitled  to  and 
receive  payment  for  the  time  they  were  in 
the  actual  service  of  the  State.'5 

Mr.  MEYER  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  was  adopted : 

Resolved)  That  Henry  C.  Warmouth  was 
duly  elected  doorkeeper  at  the  last  session 
of  this  Convention,  and  is  entitled  to  his 
position. 

Mr.  COMINGO  offered  the  following  ordi- 
nance, which  was  read,  and  on  his  motion 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Elections  and 
Elective  Franchise  : 


11 


"Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  in  Convention  assembled:  That 
every  candidate  for  any  office  in  the  gift  of 
the  people  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  be- 
fore his  name  shall  be  placed  on  the  poll- 
books  at  any  election  held  by  virtue  and 
in  pursuance  of  the  laws  or  ordinances  of 
the  State,  shall  file  in  the  office  of  the  clerk 
of  the  County  Court  of  the  county  in  which 
he  resides  his  affidavit  to  the  following  ef- 
fect: 

"  I, ,  of  the  county  of ,  can- 
didate for  the  office  of ,  do  solemnly 

and  truly  swear,  that  I  will  support  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Constitution  of  the  State  of  Missouri ;  that 
I  have  at  all  times  been  loyal  and  true  to 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  ;  that 
I  will  not  take  up  arms  against  said  Gov- 
ernment nor  the  Government  of  the  State 
of  Missouri,  nor  will  I  directly  or  indirect- 
ly give  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  of 
either  of  said  Governments,  but  that  I  will 
well  and  faithfully  labor  to  preserve,  main- 
tain and  uphold  both  of  said  Governments ; 
that  I  will  do  all  in  my  power  to  protect 
them  against  all  their  enemies,  whether 
domestic  or  foreign  ;  that  I  will  not  at  any 
time,  nor  in  any  manner,  countenance  any 
plan,  effort  or  purpose  to  disturb  the  pres- 
ent Federal  relations  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri with  the  United  States,  nor  to  inter- 
fere with  or  disturb  the  authority  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  in  any 
place  or  State  where  it  now  is  or  has  here- 
tofore been,  or  may  hereafter  be  exercised, 
nor  will  I  leave  any  of  such  plans,  efforts 
or  purposes  unexposed  should  they  come  to 
my  knowledge  or  should  I  receive  informa- 
tion thereof;  and  that  I  take  this  oath  free- 
ly and  voluntarily,  without  any  mental 
reservation  or  evasion  whatsoever,  with 
a  full  determination,  pledge  and  purpose 
faithfully  to  observe  and  keep  it,  any  or 
dinance,  resolution  or  law  of  any  State 
Convention,  Legislature,  order  or  organi- 
zation, secret  or  otherwise,  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding.  So  help  me  God. 

"  Said  affidavit  may  be  made  before  any 
officer  authorized  to  administer  oaths  in  the 
county  in  which  the  affiant  resides,  and 
when  made  in  any  other  county  shall  be 


made  before  a  notary  public  or  before  the 
clerk  of  a  court  of  record  ;  and  all  candi- 
dates for  all  State  offices  shall  cause  a  cer- 
tified copy  of  said  affidavit  to  be  filed  in 
the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
State  of  Missouri  on  or  before  the  day  of 
election  to  fill  the  office  or  offices  to  which 
they  aspire,  and  any  failure  or  refusal  to 
take  and  file  the  affidavit  as  hereinbefore 
required  shall  render  null  and  void  all 
votes  cast  for  the  candidate  so  failing  or 
refusing." 

Mr.  WELCH  offered  the  following  ordi- 
nance, which  was  read  and  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  State  Constitution  : 

Be   it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the   State   of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled,  as  follows  : 

SECTION  1.  The  Senate  shall  consist  of 
not  less  than  twenty-five  nor  more  than 
thirty-three  members,  for  the  election  of 
whom  the  State  shall  be  divided  into  con- 
venient districts,  which  may  be  altered 
from  time  to  time  as  public  convenience 
may  require  ;  and  the  Senators  shall  be 
apportioned  among  the  several  districts 
according  to  the  number  of  free  white  male 
inhabitants  in  each  :  Provided,  that  when 
a  Senatorial  district  shall  be  composed  of 
two  or  more  counties,  the  counties  of  which 
said  district  is  composed  shall  not  be  en- 
tirely separated  by  any  county  belonging 
to  another  district,  and  no  county  shall  be 
divided  in  forming  a  district.  If  any  va- 
cancy shall  occur  in  any  Senatorial  district, 
by  death,  resignation,  or  any  other  cause, 
the  Governor  shall,  on  being  satisfied  that 
a  vacancy  exists,  issue  a  writ  of  election  to 
fill  such  vacancy  ;  but  every  election  to  fill 
a  vacancy  shall  be  for  the  residue  of  the 
term  only. 

SEC.  2.  Immediately  after  the  assembling 
of  the  Senate  in  consequence  of  the  first 
election  hereafter  to  be  held,  the  Senators 
shall  be  divided  by  lot,  as  equally  as  may 
be,  into  two  classes.  The  seats  of  the  Sen- 
ators of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at 
the  expiration  of  the  second  year,  and  of 
the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the 
fourth  year,  so  that  one-half  of  the  Senators 
may  be  chosen  every  second  year. 

SEC  3.  The  sixth  and  seventh  sections  of 


12 


the  third  article  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  be  and  the  same  are 
hereby  abolished. 

Mr.  ZIMMERMAN  offered  the  following; 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Elections : 

Resolved,  That  if  the  Committee  on  Elec- 
tions and  the  Elective  Franchise  should 
see  proper  to  report  a  bill  disfranchising 
voters  of  southern  feeling,  they  also  be 
instructed  to  include  in  that  bill  all  aboli- 
tionists. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS  then  offered  the  following, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Elections : 

Resolved,  That  at  the  next  August  elec- 
tion, and  at  all  other  elections  hereafter 
held  in  this  State,  the  vote  shall  be  cast  by 
ballot. 

Mr.  WELCH  offered  an  ordinance  entitled 
"  An  ordinance  in  relation  to  Assessors  and 
Collectors,  and  providing  for  the  payment 
of  certain  accounts."  Read  and  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ROWLAND,  the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  until  2  o'clock  P.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment. 

Mr.  GRAVELLY  offered  the  following  reso- 
lution, which  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Elections  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Elec- 
tions be  and  are  hereby  instructed  to  inquire 
into  and  report  as  to  the  expediency  of 
permitting  the  officers  and  soldiers  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  or  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  State  of  Missouri,  who  at  the 
time  of  entering  the  service  were  citizens 
of  the  State  of  Missouri,  to  vote  in  their 
respective  camps  for  candidates  for  State 
and  county  offices  that  may  have  to  be  filled 
by  an  election  of  the  people  during  the  time 
said  officers  and  soldiers  may  remain  in  the 
services  mentioned. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  LEEPER, 

Resolved,  That  Judge  McFerran  be  added 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Militia. 


Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis  offered  the  follow- 
ing resolution,  which  was  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Elec- 
tions and  Elective  Franchise  be  instructed 
to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  postponing 
the  election  of  Governor,  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor, and  Secretary  of  State,  until  the 
regular  time  prescribed  by  the  Constitution 
for  the  election  of  State  officers,  and  to 
report  by  ordinance  or  otherwise. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  DOUGLASS, 

Resolved,  That  Messrs.  Bush  and  Meyer 
be  added  to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK  offered  the  following  : 

WHEREAS^  the  calamities  of  war  have  de- 
prived this  Convention,  and  the  country, 
of  the  services  on  this  floor  of  Col.  Jacob 
T.  Tindall,  who  fell  at  the  head  of  hia 
regiment  on  Sunday,  the  6th  day  of  April, 
1862,  on  the  battle-field  of  Shiloh ;  there- 
fore, 

Be  it  Resolved,  1st.  That  in  the  death  of 
Col.  Jacob  T.  Tindall  this  Convention  has 
lost  a  valued  member,  whose  intellect, 
energy  and  patriotism,  and  conservative 
views,  rendered  him  an  able  and  efficient 
member  of  this  body ;  that  by  his  untimely 
fall  the  nation  has  lost  a  devoted  patriot  in 
the  hour  of  her  peril,  the  army  a  prudent 
and  brave  commander,  the  society  in  which 
he  moved  an  ornament,  and  his  family  an 
affectionate  husband  and  father. 

2d.  That  in  testimony  of  our  appreciation 
of  the  deceased,  and  from  due  regard  to  his 
memory,  this  Convention  will  now  adjourn 
until  to-morrow  morning,  nine  o'clock,  and 
that  the  members  wear  the  usual  badge  of 
mourning  during  the  present  session. 

3d.  That  we  tender  the  condolence  of 
the  members  of  this  body  to  the  family  and 
immediate  friends  of  Col.  Tindall  in  their 
sad  bereavement ;  that  these  resolutions  be 
spread  upon  the  Journal  of  the  Convention, 
and  that  a  copy  thereof  be  prepared  by  the 
Secretary  and  forwarded  to  Mrs.  Emeline 
W.  Tindall,  the  wife  of  the  deceased. 

After  appropriate  and  touching  addresses 
upon  the  life  and  character  of  the  deceased, 
Messrs.  Woolfolk,  Shanklin,  Stewart, 
and  Breckinridge,  the  resolutions  were 
adopted  and  the  Convention  adjourned. 


13 


THIRD   DAT. 


WEDNESDAY  MORNING,  June  4,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment. 

Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 

The  roll  was  called,  when  the  following 
additional  members  answered  to  their 
names,  viz : 

Messrs.  Bridge,  Bush,  Calhoun,  Drake, 
Frnyser,  Hall  of  Randolph,  Hendrick,  Irwin, 
Ross,  and  Shackelford  of  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  POMEROY  offered  the  following  reso- 
lution, which  was  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  the  name  of  J.  W. 
McClurg  be  added  to  the  Committee  on  Con- 
gressional Districts. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  PHILLIPS,  the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  until  3  o'clock  P.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment. 

Mr.  ALLEN  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  was  read  and  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Constitution  : 

Resolved  by  this  Convention,  That  we 
repudiate  and  eschew  all  agitation  of  the 
slave  question  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  at 
the  present  time. 

Mr.  BRIDGE  offered  the  following,  which 
on  motion  was  referred  to  a  select  commit- 
tee of  seven,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Bridge, 
Allen,  Bush,  Calhoun,  Eitzen,  Gravelly,  and 
Isbell  : 

WHEREAS,  the  Convention  has  sufficient  evi- 
dence before  it  of  the  disloyalty  of  cer- 
tain of  its  members  who  have  absented 
themselves  from  its  deliberations,  and 
are  now,  and  have  been  for  months  past, 
absent  from  this  State,  and  are  now  resi- 
dents of  the  so-called  "Confederate 
States,"  where  they  have  been  and  are 
now  engaged  in  the  wicked  and  traitorous 
attempt  to  overthrow,  by  force  of  arms, 
the  lawful  authority  of  the  United  States 
Government,  as  well  as  the  Provisional 
Government  of  this  State  ;  therefore, 


Be  it  Resolved,  That  self-respect,  as  well 
as  a  sense  of  justice  to  the  people  of  certain 
districts,  who  are  without  a  full  represen- 
tation in  this  Convention,  impel  us  to  de- 
clare the  seats  of  Sterling  Price,  late  of 
Chariton  county,  a  member  from  the  Sixth 
Senatorial  District;  John  R.  Chenault,  late 
of  Jasper  county,  a  member  from  the  Seven- 
teenth Senatorial  District ;  Robert  W.  Craw- 
ford, late  of  Lawrence  county,  a  member 
from  the  Eighteenth  Senatorial  District;  V. 
B.  Hill,  late  of  Pulaski  county,  a  member 
from  the  Twenty-second  Senatorial  Dis- 
trict; Robert  A.  Hatcher,  late  of  New  Mad- 
rid county,  a  member  from  the  Twenty-fifth 
Senatorial  District;  W.  W.  Turner,  late  of 

Laclede  county,  a  member  from  the 

Senatorial  District;  N.  W.  Watkins,  late  of 
Cape  Girardeau  county,  a  member  from  the 

Senatorial  District,  and  Uriel  Wright, 

late  of  St.  Louis  county,  one  of  the  members 
from  the  Twenty-ninth  Senatorial  District, 
vacant,  and  their  names  be  struck  from  the 
roll  of  the  Ponvention. 

Mr.  POMEROY  offered  the  following  ordi- 
nance, which  was  read,  and  on  motion 
referred  to  a  select  committee  of  three, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Pomeroy,  Smith  of 
Linn,  and  Welch : 

Be  it  ordained  by   the  People  of  the   State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled,  as  follows: 

1st.  That  the  Secretary  of  State  be  and 
he  is  hereby  authorized  to  forward  to  the 
clerk  of  Phelps  Circuit  Court,  for  the  use 
of  the  county  of  Phelps,  a  full  set  of  the 
bound  volumes  of  the  Supreme  Court  De- 
cisions of  the  State  of  Missouri. 

Mr.  MEYER  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  was  read  and  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Elections  and  Elective  Fran- 
chise : 

Resolved,  That  the  citizens  of  this  State, 
who  have  by  their  own  acts  expatriated 
themselves,  ought  not  to  be  permitted  to 
vote  at  any  future  election,  or  to  hold  office, 
unless  restored  to  their  citizenship  by 
appropriate  legislation ;  and  that  an  ordi- 


14 


nance  to  this  end  should  be  adopted  by  this 
Convention. 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  should 
by  ordinance  define  the  crime  of  conspiracy 
against  the  People  and  Provisional  Govern- 
ment of  this  State,  to  be  punished  by  fine, 
imprisonment,  or  banishment,  according  to 
the  nature  and  degree  of  the  crime  com- 
mitted. 

Mr.  POMEROY  offered  the  following,  which 
was  read  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
the  Constitution  : 

WHEREAS,  under  the  present  deranged  con- 
dition of  the  country,  there  is,  and  has 
for  some  time  past  been,  but  little  re- 
straint thrown  around  the  people,  and  a 
manifest  want  of  protection  to  persons 
and  property,  in  many  counties  in  this 
State ;  and, 

WHEREAS,  it  is  only  to  the  Judiciary  of  the 
State  that  the  public  can  look  with  con- 
fidence for  protection,  and  the  restraint 
of  crime,  as  well  as  the  enforcement  of 
municipal  law ;  therefore, 
Be,  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled,  as  follows  : 

1st.  That  if  any  person  or  persons  shall 
wilfully  disturb  any  court  of  record  in  this 
State,  while  the  same  is  in  session,  so  far 
as  materially  to  hinder  or  delay  in  the 
administration  of  justice,  and  shall  wilfully 
commit  any  act  calculated  to  produce  ter- 
ror, whereby  the  court  may  be  materially 
disturbed  in  its  deliberations,  or  shall  wil- 
fully interfere  with  any  officer  of  any 
court,  sheriff,  or  coroner  in  the  discharge 
of  an  official  duty,  while  attending  court  or 
travelling  under  requirements  connected 
with  official  duty — any  person  or  persons  so 
offending  shall  be  subject  to  an  indict- 
ment for  a  felony,  and  on  conviction  shall 
be  punished  by  fine  not  less  than  five  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  may  be  imprisoned  not 
less  than  five  years. 

Mr.  COMINGO  presented  the  following  or- 
dinance : 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri in  Contention  assembled : 

SECTION  1.  That  the  tax- payers  of  the 
counties  of  Jackson,  Cass,  and  Bates,  are 
hereby  released  and  forever  discharged 


from  all  indebtedness  to  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri on  account  of  taxes  due  for  the  year 
1861,  and  also  on  account  of  all  taxes  due 
or  to  become  due  for  the  year  1862;  pro- 
vided, however,  that  nothing  herein  con- 
tained shall  be  so  construed  as  to  release 
or  discharge  non-residents  of  said  coun- 
ties from  the  payment  of  taxes  for  said 
years  on  property  belonging  to  them  within 
the  limits  thereof. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  County  Courts  in  said 
counties  are  hereby  authorized  to  withhold 
from  the  collectors  of  taxes  the  tax  books 
for  the  year  1861,  and  upon  the  assess- 
ments made  for  the  year  1862  they  are  au- 
thorized to  levy  and  collect  for  county  pur- 
poses the  taxes  for  both  of  said  years,  and 
they  are  also  authorized  and  required  to 
cause  to  be  collected  from  non-residents  of 
said  counties  the  full  amount  of  taxes  due 
the  State  for  the  same  period. 

Mr.  MCDOWELL  moved  to  amend  by  add- 
ing the  counties  of  Dade,  Jasper,  Cedar, 
Benton,  and  Vernon. 

Mr.  ORR  offered  the  following  substitute 
for  the  amendment : 

"  Amend  by  adding  the  counties  com- 
posing the  Sixth  Congressional  District, 
except  Gasconade,  Osage,  and  Maries." 

The  ordinance  and  amendments  were,  on 
motion,  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Fi- 
nance. 

Mr.  McFERRAN,  from  the  Committee  on 
Elections  and  Elective  Franchise,  reported 
the  following  ordinances,  viz. :  "  An  ordi- 
nance defining  the  qualifications  of  voters 
and  civil  officers  in  this  State  ; "  (C  An  or- 
dinance continuing  the  present  Provisional 
Government  in  office,"  and  "  An  ordinance 
repealing  certain  ordinances  submitting  the 
action  of  the  Convention  to  a  vote  of  the 
people  of  Missouri." 

Mr.  HOWELL,  from  -the  same  Committee, 
submitted  as  a  minority  report,  "  An  ordi- 
nance postponing  the  election  to  be  held  in 
August,  1862,  &c." 

The  report,  together  with  all  the  ordi- 
nances, were  laid  on  the  table,  200  copies 
ordered  to  be  printed,  and  made  the  special 
order  for  to-morrow  at  2  o'clock. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BROWN,  the  Convention 
adjourned  until  to-morrow  at  nine  o'clock. 


15 


FOURTH   DAY. 


THURSDAY  MORNING,  June  5,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment, and  was  opened  with  prayer  by  the 
Chaplain. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD,  from  the  Committee  on 
the  Congressional  Districts,  reported  "  An 
ordinance  for  dividing  the  State  into  nine 
Congressional  Districts,"  which  was  laid  on 
the  table  and  ordered  to  be  printed,  and 
made  the  special  order  for  to-morrow  at 
10  o'clock.  The  report  is  as  follows  : 

"The  Committee  on  Congressional  Dis- 
tricts beg  leave  to  make  the  following  re- 
port : 

"  The  State  of  Missouri  being  entitled  to 
nine  Representatives  in  Congress,  accord- 
ing to  the  Federal  census  for  the  year 
1860,  the  State  has  been  divided  into  nine 
districts.  The  representative  population 
for  the  State,  as  ascertained  from  the  cen- 
sus tables,  is  1,136,106,  which  will  give 
126,234  as  a  ratio  for  a  representative. 
The  city  and  county  of  St.  Louis  having  a 
representative  population  of  188,785,  much 
larger  than  the  ratio,  your  committee  found 
it  necessary  to  divide  it  in  forming  the 
districts. 

"  They  submit  the  following  as  the  dis- 
tricts agreed  upon,  and  which,  though  some 
of  them  exceed  and  some  fall  below  the 
ratio,  yet,  after  much  labor,  they  have  been 
unable  to  adopt  any  plan  which  would  more 
nearly  approximate  the  ratio  for  each  dis- 
trict than  the  one  which  is  presented. 

BROADHEAD,  Ch'n." 


AN  ORDINANCE  PROVIDING  FOR  LAYING 
OFF  THE  STATE  INTO  CONGRESSIONAL 
DISTRICTS. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  : 
SECTION  1.  The  State  of  Missouri  is  here- 
by  divided  into   nine  Congressional  Dis- 
tricts, the  qualified  voters  of  each  District 
to  elect  one  member  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States. 


SEC.  2.  The  First  District  shall  be  com- 
posed of  the  fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  seventh, 
eighth,  ninth  and  tenth  wards  of  the  city  of 
St.  Louis,  as  now  established,  all  that  part 
of  St.  Louis  township  north  of  the  Man- 
chester road,  and  St.  Ferdinand  township 
and  Central  township,  of  the  county. of  St. 
Louis. 

The  Second  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  first,  second  and  third  wards  of  the  city 
of  St.  Louis,  as  now  established,  all  that 
part  of  St.  Louis  township  south  of  the 
Manchester  road,  and  Carondelet  township, 
Bonhomme  township  and  Meramec  town- 
ship of  the  county  of  St.  Louis ;  also,  the 
counties  of  Jefferson,  Franklin,  Gasconade, 
Osage,  Maries,  Crawford,  Phelps,  and  Pu- 
laski. 

The  Third  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Dunklin,  Pemiscot,  New 
Madrid,  Mississippi,  Stoddard,  Butler,  Rip- 
ley,  Scott,  Wayne,  Reynolds,  Shannon, 
Cape  Girardeau,  Bolinger,  Madison,  Iron, 
Dent,  Perry,  Ste.  Genevieve,  St.  Fran9oi», 
Washington,  Carter,  and  Oregon. 

The  Fourth  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Barton,  Jasper,  Newton, 
McDonald,  Barry,  Lawrence,  Dade,  Cedar, 
Polk,  Greene,  Christian,  Stone,  Taney, 
Webster,  Dallas,  Laclede,  Wright,  Doug- 
lass, Ozark,  Texas,  and  Howell. 

The  Fifth  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Cass,  Bates,  Vernon,  John- 
son, Henry,  St.  Clair,  Hickory,  Benton, 
Pettis,  Cooper,  Moniteau,  Cole,  Morgan, 
Miller,  and  Camden. 

The  Sixth  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Clinton,  Clay,  Platte,  Jack- 
son, Caldwell,  Ray,  Lafayette,  Carroll,  Sa- 
line, and  Chariton. 

The  Seventh  District  shall  be  composed 
of  the  counties  of  Atchisoa,  Holt,  Noda- 
way,  Andrew,  Buchanan,  DeKalb,  Gentry, 
Daviess,  Harrison,  Livingston,  Grundy^ 
Mercer,  Linn,  Putnam,  and  Worth. 

The  Eighth  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Sullivan,  Schuyler,  Scot- 


16 


land,  Clark,  Adair,  Knox,  Lewis,  Marion, 
Shelby,  Macon,  Randolph,  and  Howard. 

The  Ninth  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Monroe,  Rails,  Audrain, 
Pike,  Lincoln,  Montgomery,  Callaway, 
Boone,  Warren,  and  St.  Charles. 

Mr.  BUSH  offered  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
the  Constitution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  number  of  members 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  be  reduced 
to  one  hundred  (100),  and  that  an  appor- 
tionment of  the  State  be  made  in  accord- 
ance therewith. 

Mr.  SCOTT  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Finance  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Finance 
be  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  necessity 
of  taking  any  action  for  the  purpose  of 
passing  the  tax  books  for  the  year  1861, 
that  have  not  heretofore  been  received  into 
the  hands  of  the  collectors  of  their  respec- 
tive counties,  and  report  by  ordinance  or 
otherwise. 

Mr.  HALL,  of  Buchanan,  offered  an  ordi- 
nance entitled,  "  An  ordinance  amending 
f  An  ordinance  providing  for  abolishing 
certain  offices,  reducing  salaries  and  testing 
the  loyalty  of  civil  officers  in  this  State  ;'" 
which,  on  motion,  was  laid  on  the  table 
and  200  copies  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  from  the  Committee  on 
Elections  and  Elective  Franchises,  made 
the  following  report : 


"Mr.  President: — The  Committee  on 
Elections  and  Elective  Franchises  have  had 
under  consideration  an  ordinance  introdu- 
ced by  Mr.  Eitzen  to  repeal  an  act  passed 
March  8,  1861,  concerning  the  election  of 
County  Court  Justices  in  Gasconade  county, 
and  beg  leave  to  report  its  rejection  for  the 
reason  that  the  Committee  deem  it  improper 
to  enter  into  the  repeal  of  special  laws, 
which  properly  and  legitimately  belongs  to 
the  Legislative  department,  and,  if  once 
entered  upon  by  this  Convention,  would 
protract  its  session  indefinitely,  to  the 
great  detriment  of  the  public  interest,  re- 
quiring all  the  time  of  this  body  in  con- 
sideration of  questions  of  immediate  and 
great  importance  to  the  people  of  the  whole 
State. 

McFERRAN,    Ch'n." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  LEEPER,  the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  until  2  o'clock,  p.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  the  "  Ordi- 
nance defining  the  qualifications  of  voters 
and  civil  officers  in  this  State"  was  taken 
up  and  considered  by  sections. 

Mr.  ORR  moved  to  amend  the  first  section 
as  follows  :  "  Strike  out  all  after  the  word 
( State'  in  the  4th  line,  to  and  including  the 
word  (  ordinance'  in  the  6th  line ;"  pending 
the  consideration  of  which, 

On  motion  of  Mr.  PHILLIPS,  the  House 
adjourned  until  to-morrow  morning,  at  9 
o'clock. 


17 


FIFTH   DAY. 


FRIDAY  MORNING,  June  6,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment, and  was  opened  with  prayer  by  the 
Chaplain. 

The  Journal  was  read  and  approved. 
Mr.  DOUGLASS,  from   the   Committee   on 
Finance,  made  the  following  report : 

"The  Committee  on  Finance,  to  whom 
was  referred  the  ordinance  submitted  by 
the  member  from  Johnson  county,  report 
the   said    ordinance    and    recommend  its 
adoption  as  amended  by  them. 
WM.  DOUGLASS, 
GEORGE  W.  ZIMMERMAN, 
FERDINAND  MEYER, 
ISADOR  BUSH, 
SAMUEL  C.  COLLINS, 
GEORGE  W.  DUNN." 

The  ordinance  as  amended  was  laid  on 
the  table,  and  two  hundred  copies  ordered 
to  be  printed. 

Mr.  BRIDGE,  from  the  Select  Committee, 
made  the  following  report : 

"  The  Committee  to  whom  the  resolution 
was  referred,  declaring  the  seats  of  certain 
members  of  this  body  vacant,  have  had  the 
same  under  consideration,  and  beg  leave 
to  submit  the  following  report : 

"That  from  the  evidence  before  the 
committee  they  are  satisfied  that  Sterling 
Price,  Robert  W.  Crawford,  and  V.  B.  Hill, 
members  of  this  Convention,  are  now,  and 
have  been  for  some  months  past,  commit- 
ting acts  of  flagrant  rebellion  against  the 
lawful  authority  of  the  United  States,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  Provisional  Government 
of  this  State ;  that  they  have  violated  the 
oath  which  they  voluntarily  took  when 
they  were  admitted  as  members  of  this 
Convention,  and  have  proved  recreant  to 
their  State,  their  country,  and  its  cause  ; 
that  they  are  in  arms  against  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  the  Pro- 
visional Government  of  this  State,  and  are 
giving  their  aid  to  the  rebellion  now  waged 
for  the  overthrow  and  subversion  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States ;  that  in 
consequence  of  these  criminal  offences  they 
2 


are  unworthy  to  hold  seats  in  this  body, 
and  should  therefore  be  summarily  expelled 
from  the  same. 

"  That  in  regard  to  Uriel  Wright  your 
committee  have  not  any  evidence  before 
them  that  he  has  taken  up  arms  against  the 
United  States,  but  have  evidence  that  he 
has  left  this  'State  and  espoused  the  rebel 
cause,  and  has  given  aid  and  comfort  to 
our  enemies  by  public  speeches  and  other- 
wise, and  is  therefore  unworthy  a  seat  in 
this  Convention,  and  recommend  that  he 
be  expelled  from  the  same. 

"In  regard  to  John  R.  Chenault  and 
Robert  A.  Hatcher,  named  in  the  resolu- 
tion under  consideration,  your  committee 
are  unable  to  obtain  any  testimony  of  their 
having  taken  up  arms  against  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  or  the  Pro- 
visional Government  of  this  State  ;  but  the 
testimony  before  them  goes  to  show  that 
they  are  not  at  present 'citizens  of  this 
State,  having  removed  from  it.  Your  com- 
mittee would  therefore  recommend  that 
their  seats  be  declared  vacant. 

"In  the  case  of  N.  W.  Watkins,  late  of 
Cape  Girardeau  county,  a  member  of  this 
Convention,  your  committee,  from  the  evi- 
dence before  them,  find  that  he  accepted  a 
commission  as  a  Brigadier  General  from  C. 
F.  Jackson,  late  Governor  of  this  State,  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  and  equipping 
troops  for  the  State  service ;  that  he  pro- 
ceeded to  act  under  his  commission,  but  at 
a  subsequent  period  threw  it  up,  and  has 
for  some  time  past  been  absent  from  the 
State.  Whether  he  intends  to  return  to 
the  State  is  unknown  to  your  committee ; 
they,  however,  recommend  that  his  seat  in 
this  Convention  be  declared  vacant. 

"  In  regard  to  W.  W.  Turner,  late  of  La- 
clede  county,  and  a  member  of  this  Con- 
vention, whose  name  also  appears  in  the 
resolution  under  consideration,  your  com- 
mittee have  evidence  of  the  commission  of 
criminal  acts  committed  by  him  during  the 
recess  of  this  Convention,  and  of  his  now  I 
being  a  fugitive  from  this  State,  whose  laws 


18 


he  has  outraged.  Your  committee  there- 
fore recommend  his  expulsion  from  his  seat 
in  this  Convention. 

"  Your  committee  offer  the  following  re- 
solutions and  recommend  their  adoption  : 

"Rtsolved,  That  Sterling  Price,  Robert 
W.  Crawford,  V.  B,  Hill,  Uriel  Wright,  and 
W.  W.  Turner,  be  and  are  hereby  expelled 
from  their  seats  in  this  Convention. 

((  Resolved,  That  the  seats  of  John  R. 
Chenault,  Robert  A.  Hatcher,  and  N.  W. 
Watkins  in  this  Convention  be  and  are  here- 
by declared  vacant,  and  that  the  above  eight 
names  be  struck  from  the  rolls  of  the  Con- 
vention. 

BRIDGE,  Chairman." 

Mr.  PIPKIN  moved  to  strike  the  name  of 
N.  W.  Watkins  from  the  second  resolution, 
upon  which  motion  he  called  the  ayes  and 
noes,  and  was  decided  in  the  negative  by  the 
following  vote : 

AYES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Collier,  Drake, 
Flood,  Marmaduke,  Matson,  Pipkin,  Ray, 
Ross,  Welch,  and  Woodson— 12. 

NOES  —  Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckin- 
ridge,  Broadhead,  Bridge,  Brown,  Bush, 
Calhoun,  Cayce,  Comingo,  Doniphan, 
Douglass,  Dunn,  Eitzen,  Frayser,  Gravelly, 
Hall  of  B.,  Hall  of  R.,  Henderson,  Hen- 
dricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Howell, 
Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Johnson,  Kidd,  Lee- 
per,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg,  Mc- 
Cormack,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Mever, 
Moss,  Orr,  Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Rankin, 
Rowland,  Scott,  Shackelford  of  St.  L., 
Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L., 
Stewart,  Waller,  Woolfolk,  Vanbuskirk, 
Zimmerman,  and  Mr.  President — 55. 

Mr.  GRAVELLY  moved  to  strike  out  the 
name  of  John  R.  Chenault  from  the  2d 
section,  which  was  decided  in  the  negative. 

Mr.  DUNN  moved  to  strike  out  the  name 
of  Uriel  Wright  in  the  1st  section,  and  in- 
sert it  in  the  2d  resolution.  Decided  in 
the  negative. 

The  resolutions  were  then  unanimously 
adopted. 

Mr.  VANBUSKIRK  presented  a  petition 
from  the  citizens  of  the  Fourth  Senatorial 
District  asking  for  the  expulsion  of  Prince 
L.  Hudgens,  as  a  member  of  this  Conven- 
tion. 

The  Convention  proceeded  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  question  pending  at  the 
adjournment  on  yesterday,  viz.,  the  amend- 


ment of  Mr.  Orr  to  strike  out  in  the  1st  sec- 
tion of  an  ordinance,  reported  from  the 
Committee  on  Elections,  defining  the  quali- 
fications of  voters  and  civil  officers  in  this 
State,  the  following  words  :  "  Nor  to  vote 
at  any  election  held  under  or  in  pursuance 
of  said  Constitution  and  laws  from  and 
after  the  passage  of  this  ordinance." 

Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis  moved  to  refer  the 
ordinance  and  amendment  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Elections.  Motion  decided  in  the 
negative. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  WELCH,  the  Convention 
adjourned  until  2  o'clock  this  afternoon. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment. 

Mr.  McCLURG,  on  leave,  presented  a  pe- 
tition from  citizens  of  Callaway  county, 
asking  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  to  pro- 
hibit rebels,  or  rebel  sympathizers,  from 
voting  at  the  next  elections ;  which  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Elections. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  HUDGENS,  Messrs.  Irwin, 
Hendrick,  Moss,  Shanklin  and  McDowell 
were  appointed  by  the  President  as  a  com- 
mittee to  act  upon  the  petition  presented 
by  Mr.  Vanbuskirk  on  this  morning,  which 
asks  the  expulsion  of  said  Hudgens  as  a 
member  of  this  Convention. 

The  question  before  the  Convention  be- 
ing stated  by  the  President  to  be  on  agree- 
ing to  the  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Orr, 
to  the  1st  section  of  "An  ordinance  defin- 
ing the  qualifications  of  voters  and  civil 
offcers  in  this  State"— 

Mr.  WELCH  moved  to  adjourn  until  to- 
morrow morning  at  9  o'clock.  Negatived. 

The  question  on  agreeing  to  the  amend- 
ment of  Mr.  Orr  was  decided  in  the  affirm- 
ative by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes  and 
noes  being  demanded  by  Mr.  Rowland  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Bast,  Birch, 
Brown,  Calhoun,  Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo, 
Doniphan, Douglass,Drake,Dunn,  Frayser, 
Flood,  Gravelly,  Howell,  Hudgens,  Jackson, 
Kidd,  Long,  Marmaduke,  Matson,  McDow- 
ell, McFerran,  Moss,  Orr,  Phillips,  Pipkin, 
Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Ray,  Ross,  Rowland, 
Shackelford  of  St.  Louis,  Shanklin,  Smith 
of  L.,  Waller,  Welch,  Woodson,  Woolfolk, 


19 


Vanbuskirk,  Zimmerman,  and  Mr.  Presi- 
dent—44. 

NOES — Messrs.  Bogy,  Breckinridge,  Broad- 
head,  Bridge,  Bush,  Bitzen,  Hall  of  B., 
Hall  of  R.,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes, 
How,  Irwin,  Isbell,  Johnson,  Leeper,  Lin- 
ton,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McCorniack,  Meyer, 
Scott,  and  Smith  of  St.  L.— 24. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BRIDGE,  the  ordinance 
was  recommitted  to  the  Committee  on 
Elections. 

Mr.  WELCH  moved  to  adjourn  until  8£ 
o'clock  to-morrow  morning,  which  was  de- 
cided in  the  negative. 

Mr.  Ho  WELL  moved  that  the  Committee 
on  Elections  be  instructed  to  make  a  report 


on  the  basis  of  an  ordinance  reported  by  a 
minority  of  said  committee,  dispensing 
with  the  election,  in  the  year  1862,  of  cer- 
tain State  and  county  officers  mentioned 
in  said  ordinance. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  from  the  Committee  on 
Elections  and  Election  Franchise,  reported 
"An  ordinance  to  enable  citizens  of  this 
State  in  the  military  service  of  the  United 
States  or  the  State  of  Missouri  to  vote," 
which  was,  on  his  motion,  laid  on  the  table, 
and  200  copies  ordered  to  be  printed. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  the  Con- 
vention adjourned  until  to-morrow  morn- 
ing at  9  o'clock. 


SIXTH   DAY. 


SATURDAY  MORNING,  June  7,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment, and  was  opened  with  prayer  by  the 
Chaplain. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Moss,  the  reading  of 
the  Journal  of  yesterday  was  dispensed 
with. 

The  President  laid  before  the  Convention 
a  communication  from  the  Warden  and  In- 
spectors of  the  Penitentiary,  inviting  them 
to  a  visit  and  examination  of  said  building, 
and  of  the  manner  in  which  the  convicts 
were  treated. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE  presented  the  follow- 
ing ordinance,  entitled 

AN  ORDINANCE  TO   PROVIDE  FOR  SUBMIT- 
TING TO  A  VOTE  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  MIS- 
SOURI   CERTAIN    AMENDMENTS    TO   THE 
CONSTITUTION,  AND  A  SCHEME  FOR  THE 
GRADUAL  EMANCIPATION  OF  SLAVES. 
Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri in  Convention  assembled,  as  follows  : 
SECTION  1.  That  the  first  and  second  clauses 
of  the  26th  section  of  the  3d  article  of  the  Con- 
stitution be  and  the  same  are  hereby  abolished. 
SEC.  2.  That  all  negroes  and  mulattoes  who 
shall  be  born  in  slavery  in  this  State,  from 
and  after  the  first  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1865, 
shall  be  deemed  and  considered   slaves  until 
they  shall  arrive  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years, 


and  no  longer,  unless  sooner  permanently  re- 
moved from  the  State. 

Provided,  always,  That  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State,  afe  its 
first  regular  session  after  this  ordinance  shall 
take  effect,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be 
practicable,  to  provide  by  law  for  the  pay- 
ment to  the  owners  of  those  negroes  and  mulat- 
toes who  would  but  for  this  ordinance  have 
been  born  slaves  for  life,  a  full  equivalent  for 
their  value  at  the  expiration  of  their  term  of 
service,  and  also  to  provide  by  law  for  their 
removal  to  such  place  or  places  beyond  the 
limits  of  this  State  as  may  be  designated  by 
the  General  Assembly,  at  the  expense  of  the 
State,  of  such  persons  as  they  arrive  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five  years  ;  and  also  to  address  a  me- 
morial to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
announcing  the  acceptance  by  the  State  of 
Missouri  of  the  offer  made  in  the  resolution  re- 
commended for  adoption  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  approved  April  — ,  1862,  and 
asking  a  fulfilment  of  the  pledge  therein  con- 
tained, to  aid  those  States  which  should  provide 
by  law  for  the  emancipation  of  slaves,  in  bear- 
ing the  burdens  thereby  incurred. 

SEC.  3.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  every 
person  who  shall  be  the  owner,  or  who  shall 
have  charge  for  the  owner  or  owners  thereof, 
of  any  negro  or  mulatto  born  in  this  State  after 
the  first  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1%5,  to  deliver, 
or  cause  to  be  delivered,  within  six  months  af- 


20 


ter  the  birth  of  said  negro  or  mulatto,  to  the 
clerk  of  the  County  Court  of  the  county  in 
which  he  or  she  may  reside,  or  in  which  said 
negro  or  mulatto  may  be  born,  to  be  duly  filed 
and  recorded  in  his  office  in  a  record  book  to 
be  provided  for  that  purpose,  a  paper  duly 
signed,  stating  the  name,  age  and  sex  of  said 
negro  or  mulatto,  and  the  name  and  residence 
of  the  owner  or  owners  thereof ;  and  failing  in 
this,  shall  be  deemed  to  have  relinquished  all 
claim  for  compensation  as  provided  in  section 
two  for  said  negro  or  mulatto  so  not  registered. 

SEC.  4.  That  from  and  after  the  date  at  which 
this  ordinance  shall  take  effect,  no  slaves  shall 
be  brought  into  this  State. 

SEC.  5.  That  at  the  election  for  State  officers 
to  be  held  on  the  first  Monday  of  August,  A. 
D.  1864,  the  several  clerks  of  the  County 
Courts,  or,  in  case  said  clerks  shall  fail  to  do 
so,  then  the  clerks  of  the  election,  shall,  in 
preparing  the  poll  books  for  the  election,  enter 
thereon  two  columns,  one  headed  "For  gradu- 
al emancipation,"  and  the  other  "  Against 
gradual  emancipation ;"  and  if  a  majority  of 
the  legal  votes  given  be  for  gradual  emancipa- 
tion, then  this  ordinance  shall  take  effect  and 
be  in  full  force  ;  and  if  a  majority  of  the  legal 
votes  given  be  against  gradual  emancipation, 
then  this  ordinance  shall  be  null,  void,  and 
of  no  effect :  and  when  the  result  of  said  elec- 
tion shall  be  ascertained,  the  Governor  of  the 
State  shall,  by  proclamation,  announce  the 
same. 

The  above  ordinance,  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Hall  of  R.,  was  laid  on  the  table  by  the  fol- 
lowing vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  being  de- 
manded by  Mr.  Zimmerman  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Bast,  Birch, 
Bogy,  Brown,  Calhoim,  Cayce,  Collier,  Co- 
mingo,  Doniphan,  Douglass,  Drake,  Dunn, 
Frayser,  Flood,  Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Hall 
of  R.,  Hendricks,  Howell,  Hudgens,  Irwin, 
Jamison,  Johnson,  Kidd,  Long,  Marina- 
duke,  Marvin,  Matson,  McCormack,  Mc- 
Dowell, McFerran,  Moss,  Orr,  Phillips, 
Pipkin,  Rankin,  Ray,  Ross,  Rowland, 
Shackelford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Sheeley, 
Smith  of  L.,  Waller,  Welch,  Woodson, 
Woolfolk,  Vanbuskirk,  Zimmerman,  and 
Mr.  President — 52. 

NOES — Messrs.  Breckinridge,  Broadhead, 
Bridge,  Bush,  Eitzen,  Henderson,  Hitch- 
cock, Holmes,  How,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Leeper, 
Linton,  McClurg,  Meyer,  Pomeroy,  Scott, 
Smith  of  St.  L..,  and  Stewart — 19. 

Mr.  HALL  of  R.  then  moved  to  reconsider 
the  vote  just  taken,  and  to  lay  the  motion 


to  reconsider  on  the  table,  which  motion 
was  decided  in  the  affirmative. 

Mr.  STEWART,  from  the  Committee  on  the 
Militia,  presented  a  report,  which,  on  mo- 
tion of  Mr.  McFerran,  was  recommitted  to 
said  committee. 

Mr.  MCCLURG,  from  the  Committee  on 
Militia,  presented  a  report  recommending 
the  passage  of  "  An  ordinance  for  payment 
of  Division  Inspectors,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses ;"  also,  "  An  ordinance  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  artillery  officers." 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  from  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  presented  a  majority  report,  re- 
commending the  passage  of  the  following 
ordinance,  as  amended  by  the  committee, 
"An  ordinance  defining  the  qualifications 
of  voters  and  civil  officers  in  this  State  ;  " 
which  was,  on  his  motion,  laid  on  the  table, 
and  200  copies  ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  ORR  offered  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  adopted : 

Resolved)  That  the  President  appoint  a 
special  committee  to  take  into  consideration 
the  propriety  of  reporting  an  ordinance 
whereby  the  assessment  and  collection  of 
the  revenue  can  more  effectually  be  accom- 
plished. 

Upon  which,  the  President  appointed  the 
following  gentlemen  as  said  committee  : 
Messrs.  Orr,  Bridge,  Welch,  Allen,  and 
Woodson. 

The  ordinance  entitled,  "An  ordinance 
providing  for  laying  off  the  State  into 
Congressional  Districts,'5  as  reported  by 
the  Committee  on  Districts,  was  then  taken 
up  by  the  Convention  and  considered  by 
sections. 

The  first  section  being  read,  was,  on 
motion,  agreed  to. 

The  first,  second,  third,  and  fourth 
clauses  of  the  second  section  were  read 
and  agreed  to. 

Upon  the  fifth  clause  of  the  second  sec- 
tion Mr.  WELCH  offered  the  following 
amendment,  which  was  rejected  : 

Amend  by  striking  out  "  Moniteau,  Cole, 
Morgan,  Miller,  and  Camden,"  from  the 
Fifth  District,  and  adding  the  same  to  the 
Sixth  District ;  and  striking  out  "  Lafay- 
ette, Saline,  and  Jackson,"  from  the  Sixth 


21 


District,  and  adding  the  same  to  the  Fifth 
District. 

The  fifth  and  sixth  clauses  of  said  section 
were  then  agreed  to. 

Mr.  SMITH  of  L.  offered  the  following 
amendment : 

Amend  the  seventh  clause  of  second  sec- 
tion by  striking  out  "  Linn"  and  inserting 
"Sullivan,"  and  strike  out  "Sullivan" 
from  the  eighth  clause  and  insert  "  Linn," 
which  amendments  were  agreed  to,  and  the 
seventh  and  eighth  clauses  of  said  section 
as  amended  were  agreed  to  by  the  Conven- 
tion. 

The  ninth  clause  of  said  section  was  then 
agreed  to,  and  the  ordinance  as  amended 
was  then  adopted  by  the  Convention. 

Mr.  HENDERSON  presented  the  memorial 
of  Philander  Draper,  which  was  referred 
to  a  select  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs. 
Broadhead,  Zimmerman,  McFerran,  Wool- 
folk,  and  Douglass. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  "  the  ordi- 
nance denning  the  qualifications  of  voters 
and  civil  officers  of  this  State,"  was  taken 
up  and  made  the  special  order  for  two 
o'clock  P.  M. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  HALL  of  B.,  the  ordi- 
nance introduced  by  him,  entitled  "  An 
ordinance  to  amend  'An  ordinance  pro- 
viding for  abolishing  certain  offices,  redu- 
cing salaries,  and  testing  the  loyalty  of  civil 
officers  in  this  State,'  "  was  taken  up  and 
adopted  by  the  Convention. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  then  called  up  the  ordi- 
nance introduced  by  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  entitled  "  An  ordinance  repeal- 
ing certain  ordinances  submitting  the  action 
of  the  Convention  to  a  vote  of  the  people 
of  Missouri ;  "  pending  the  consideration  of 
which, 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ISBELL,  the  Convention 
adjourned  until  2  o'clock  P.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment. 

The  special  order,  being  the  consideration 
of  "  An  ordinance  defining  the  qualifica- 
tions of  voters  and  civil  officers  of  this 


State,"  was  then  taken  up  ;  when  Mr.  MC- 
FERRAN moved  to  strike  out  the  second  sec- 
tion, which  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  then  offered  the  following 
amendment — amend  by  striking  out  the 
third  section,  and  insert  the  following  in 
lieu  thereof  : 

"  SEC.  3.  Every  person  before  he  is  elect- 
ed or  appointed  to  any  civil  office  within 
this  State,  under  the  Constitution  and 
laws  thereof,  whether  State,  county,  town- 
ship, municipal,  or  other  civil  office,  shall 
take  and  subscribe  an  oath  in  form  as 
follows  :  '  I,  A.  B.,  on  oath,  (or  affirm- 
ation,) declare  that  I  have  not,  during 
the  present  rebellion,  taken  up  arms,  or 
levied  war,  against  the  United  States,  nor 
against  the  Provisional  Government  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  nor  have  wilfully  adhered 
to  the  enemies  of  either,  whether  domestic 
or  foreign,  by  giving  them  aid  and  comfort, 
but  have  always,  in  good  faith,  opposed  the 
same.  And  further,  that  I  will  support, 
protect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  State  of  Missouri 
against  all  enemies  and  opposers,  whether 
domestic  or  foreign,  any  ordinance,  law  or 
resolution  of  any  State  Convention  or  Le- 
gislature, or  any  order  or  organization, 
secret  or  otherwise,  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing ;  and  that  I  do  this  with  an  honest 
purpose,  pledge  and  determination  faith- 
fully to  perform  the  same,  without  any  men- 
tal reservation  or  evasion  whatever' :  which 
oath  shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  by  candidates  for  State 
offices,  and  by  candidates  for  all  county 
and  other  offices  in  the  office  of  the  clerk 
of  the  County  Court,  (or  other  officer  charg- 
ed with  equivalent  duties,)  in  the  county 
wherein  they  respectively  reside,  at  least 
five  days  before  the  day  of  election ;  and 
no  vote  shall  be  cast  up,  or  certificate  of 
election  granted  to,  any  candidate  who 
fails  to  file  such  oath,  as  required  by  this 
ordinance." 

Mr.  BIRCH  moves  to  amend  the  third  sec- 
tion by  striking  out  all  that  part  between 
the  beginning  of  the  fifth  line  and  the  word 
"further,"  inclusive,  in  the  eighth  line, 
and  insert  in  lieu  thereof  the  following : 
"  That  I  will  not  during  the  present  rebel- 


22 


lion  take  up  arms  or  levy  war  against  the 
United  States,  nor  against  the  Provisional 
Government  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  nor 
give  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  or  op- 
posers  of  either,  whether  domestic  or 
foreign." 

The  question  being  on  the  amendment 
offered  by  Mr.  Birch,  was  decided  in  the 
negative  by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes 
and  noes  being  demanded  by  Mr.  Meyer  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Bast,  Birch,  Comingo, 
Dunn,  Frayser,  Hudgens,  Marmaduke, 
Matson,  Pipkin,  Ray,  Ross,  Waller,  and 
Woodson — 13. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckinridge, 
Broadhead,  Bush,  Calhoun,  Cayce,  Doni- 
phan,  Douglass,  Flood,  Gravelly,  Hall  of 
B.,  Hall  of  R.,  Henderson,  Hendricks, 
Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Howell,  Irwin, 
Isbell,  Jackson,  Johnson,  Jamison,  Kidd, 
Lceper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg, 
McUormack,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Meyer, 
Moss,  Orr,  Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Rowland, 
Scott,  Shackelford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin, 
Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart, 
Welch,  Woolfolk,  Vanbuskirk,  Zimmerman, 
and  Mr.  President — 49. 
ticK — Mr.  Sheeley. 

PAIRED  OFF — Messrs.  Phillips  and  Brown. 
The  amendment   of    Mr.  McFerran  was 
then  agreed  to. 

Mr.  Moss  then  offered  the  following  as  a 
substitute  for  said  ordinance  : 

SECTION  1.  That  the  Governor,  Lieuten- 
ant Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State,  here- 
tofore appointed  by  this  Convention,  shall 
continue  in  office  until  the  first  Monday 
in  August,  1864,  and  until  their  suc- 
cessors are  duly  elected  and  qualified,  and 
shall  discharge  the  duties  and  exercise  the 
privileges  which  pertain  to  their  respective 
offices. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  election  required  by 
existing  law  to  be  held  on  the  first  Monday 
in  August,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-two,  for  Senators  and  Represen- 
tatives in  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State,  and  for  justices  of  the  county  courts, 
and  for  sheriffs,  coroners  and  other  county 
and  township  officers,  be  and  the  same  is 
hereby  dispensed  with. 

SEC.  3.  In  lieu  of  said  election  of  sheriffs, 
county  court  justices,  and  coroners,  above 
dispensed  with,  the  Governor  shall  appoint 
a  sheriff  and  coroner  for  each  county  in  the 


State  and  county  court  justices  in  counties 
where  vacancies  may  occur,  who  shall  hold 
their  respective  offices  for  the  same  term 
and  in  like  manner  as  if  they  had  been 
elected  on  said  first  Monday  in  August, 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two. 

SEC.  4.  In  the  event  of  any  other  State, 
county  or  township  office  being  or  becom- 
ing vacant  prior  to  the  first  Monday  in  Au- 
gust, eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three,  by 
limitation,  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise, 
such  office  or  offices  so  becoming  vacant, 
hall  be  filled  by  the  proper  authorities 
under  existing  laws ;  (authorities  to  fill 
vacancies  in  such  offices  by  appointment ;) 
and  officers  appointed  to  fill  vacancies  as 
aforesaid  shall  hold  their  said  offices  for 
the  same  time  as  if  they  had  been  elected 
under  existing  laws. 

SEC.  5.  No  person  shall  vote  at  any 
election  to  be  hereafter  held  in  this  State, 
under  or  in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution 
and  laws  thereof,  who  shall  not,  in  ad- 
dition to  possessing  the  qualifications 
already  prescribed  for  electors,  take  an 
oath  in  form  as  follows,  namely:  "I, 

,    do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm,  as 

the  case  may  be)  that  I  will  support,  pro- 
tect and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  Constitution  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  against  all  enemies  and 
opposers,  whether  foreign  or  domestic ;  that 
I  will  bear  true  faith,  loyalty  and  allegiance 
to  the  United  States,  and  will  not,  directly 
or  indirectly,  give  aid,  comfort,  or  coun- 
tenance, to  the  enemies  or  opposers  there- 
of, or  of  the  Provisional  Government  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  any  ordinance,  law  or 
resolution  of  any  State  Convention  or  Le- 
gislature, or  of  any  order  or  organization, 
secret  or  otherwise,  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding ;  and  that  I  do  this  with  a  full 
and  honest  determination,  pledge  and  pur- 
pose, without  any  mental  reservation  or 
evasion  whatever :  So  help  me  God."  And 
the  judges  of  election,  or  one  of  them,  shall 
administer  such  oath  to  all  persons  offering 
to  vote. 

By  leave  of  the  Convention,  on  motion  of 
Mr.  ALLEN,  the  thanks  of  this  Convention 
are  hereby  tendered  to  the  ladies  of  Jeffer- 


son  City  for  the  bouquet  presented  by  them 
to  the  Convention. 

Pending  the  consideration  of  the  substi- 
tute offered  by  Mr.  Moss, 


On  motion  of  Mr.  PIPKIN,  the  Convention 
adjourned  until  Monday  morning  at  nine 
o'clock. 


SEVENTH   DAY. 


MONDAY  MORNING,  June  9,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment, Vice-President  WELCH  in  the  Chair, 
and  was  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr. 
ALLEN. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  IRWIN,  the  reading  of 
the  Journal  was  dispensed  with. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  Mr.  Stew- 
art has  leave  to  make  a  report,  and  also 
has  leave  to  have  said  report  printed  in  the 
papers  of  the  day. 

The  question  before  the  Convention 
being  the  substitute  offered  by  Mr.  Moss 
for  the  ordinance  as  reported  by  the  com- 
mittee, 

Mr.  Moss,  by  leave  of  the  Convention, 
withdrew  said  substitute. 

Mr.  MCDOWELL  offers  a  substitute  for  said 
ordinance,  but  after  being  read,  withdrew 
the  same. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE  offers  the  following 
amendment : 

Amend  12th  line  of  first  section  by  in- 
serting before  the  last  sentence  thereof,  the 
following  words  :  "  And  I  do  further  sol- 
emnly swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  have  not, 
since  the  17th  day  of  December,  A.  D. 
1861,  wilfully  taken  up  arms,  or  levied  war, 
against  the  United  States,  or  against  the 
Provisional  Government  of  the  State  of 
Missouri :  So  help  me  God." 

Mr.  SHANKLIN  offered  to  amend  the 
amendment  by  striking  out  the  "  seven- 
teenth day  of  December,"  and  inserting 
the  "  tenth  day  of  June,  eighten  hundred 
and  sixty-two." 

Pending  the  consideration  of  which,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  the  Convention 
adjourned  until  2  o'clock  P.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn 
ment. 

The  question  being  on  the  amendment 
offered  by  Mr.  Shanklin  to  the  amendment 
offered  by  Mr.  Breckinridge, 

By  leave  of  the  Convention,  Mr.  HALL  of 
B.  presented  a  memorial  from  A.  W.  Mor- 
rison, late  Treasurer,  asking  the  Conven- 
tion to  receive  the  report  as  made  by  the 
committee  appointed  by  Lieut. -Gov.  Hall 
to  investigate  the  accounts  and  books  of 
his  office,  and  to  take  such  action  thereon 
as  may  relieve  him  and  his  securities  from 
any  future  responsibility  as  State  Treasu- 
rer ;  which  was,  on  his  motion,  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Finance. 

The  Convention  proceeded  to  the  consid- 
eration of  the  amendment  offered  by  Mr. 
Shanklin,  which  was  disagreed  to  by  the 
following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  being 
called  for  by  Mr.  Moss  ; 

AYES — Messrs.  Bass,  Birch,  Brown,  Cal- 
houn,  Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo,  Doniphan, 
Donnell,  Drake3  Dunn,  Frayser,  Flood, 
Howell,  Hudgens,  Jamison,  Marmaduke, 
Matson,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Moss,  Orr, 
Pipkin,  Ray,  Ross,  Rowland,  Sayre,  Shank- 
lin, Sheeley,  Waller,  Woodson,  and  Zim- 
merman— 32. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bast,  Bogy,  Breck- 
inridge, Bridge,  Bush,  Douglass,  Eitzen, 
Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock, 
Holmes,  How,  Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  John- 
son, Kidd,  Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin, 
McClurg,  McCormack,  Meyer,  Phillips, 
Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Scott,  Shackelford  of 
St.  Louis,  Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Welch, 
Woolfolk,  and  Vanbuskirk— 37. 

Mr.  ORR  offered  thefollowing  amendment: 
amend  by  adding  to  the  amendment,  "  Nor 
have  I  since  the  17th  of  December,  1861^ 


24 


stole,  taken,  or  pressed,  any  property  con- 
trary to  law  ;  "  which  was  disagreed  to  by 
the  following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  having 
been  demanded  by  Mr.  Orr  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Bast,  Cayce,  Donnell, 
Hudgens,  Marmaduke,  Matson,  Orr,  and 
Pipkin— 8. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Birch,  Bogy,  Breck- 
inridge,  Brown,  Bush,  Calhoun,  Comingo, 
Doniphan,  Douglass,  Drake,  Dunn,Eitzen, 
Frayser,  Flood,  Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Hen- 
dricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Howell, 
Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson, 
Kidd,  Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  Me- 
Clurg,  McCormack,  McFerran,  McDowell, 
Meyer,  Moss,  Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Rankin, 
Ray,  Ross,  Rowland,  Sayre,  Scott,  Shackel- 
ford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  L., 
Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Waller,  Welch, 
Woolfolk,  Yanbuskirk,  and  Zimmerman — 
57. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK  offered  the  following 
amendment : 

Amend  the  amendment  by  adding  after 
the  words  "  So  help  me  God"  :  "Provided, 
however,  that  any  qualified  elector  under 
the  Constitution  and  laws  of  this  State,  who 
claims  to  have  taken  up  arms  or  levied  war 
against  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  or  the  Provisional  Government  of 
this  State,  through  fraudulent  representa- 
tions, supposed  obligations  of  duty,  or 
duress,  and  who  claims  to  have  wholly 
abandoned  all  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  the 
so-called  Government  of  the  Confederate 
States  of  America,  shall  be  allowed  to  vote 
by  filing  the  following  oath  in  the  county 
clerk's  office  of  the  county  where  he  resides, 
and  obtaining  a  certificate  thereof  from  the 
clerk,  to  wit : 

"I,  A.  B.,  having  taken  up  arms  against 
the  Provisional  Government  of  this  State 
and  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
in  violation  of  my  duty  as  a  loyal  citizen, 
and  being  now  convinced  of  my  error  in  so 
doing,  do  hereby  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm) 
that  I  deliberately  and  wholly  abjure  all 
duty,  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  the  so-called 
Government  of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America ;  that  I  will  support,  protect  and 
defend  the  Constitution  and  Government 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  Constitution 
and  Provisional  Government  of  the  State  of 
Missouri,  against  all  enemies  and  opposers, 
whether  domestic  or  foreign;  that  I  will 


bear  true  faith,  loyalty  and  allegiance  to 
the  United  States,  and  will  not  directly  or 
indirectly  give  aid,  comfort  or  countenance 
to  the  enemies  or  opposers  thereof,  or  the 
Provisional  Government  of  the  State  of 
Missouri,  any  ordinance,  law  or  resolution 
of  any  State  Convention  or  Legislature,  or 
any  order  or  organization,  local  or  other- 
wise, to  the  contrary  notwithstanding ;  and 
that  I  do  this  with  a  full  and  honest  deter- 
mination, pledge  and  purpose,  without  any 
mental  reservation  or  evasion  whatever :  So 
help  me  God." 

Which  was  rejected  by  the  following  vote, 
the  ayes  and  noes  being  called  for  by  Mr. 
Woolfolk : 

AYES — Messrs.  Birch,  Brown,  Collier, 
Drake,  Jamison,  Kidd,  McDowell,  McFer- 
ran, Rowland,  Sayre,  and  Woolfolk — 11. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Bast,  Bogy, 
Breckinridge,  Bridge,  Bush,  Calhoun, 
Cayce,  Doniphan,  Donnell,  Dunn,  Eitzen, 
Frayser,  Flood,  Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks, 
Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Howell,  Irwin, 
Isbell,  Jackson,  Johnson,  Leeper,  Linton, 
Long,  Marmaduke,  Marvin,  Matson,  Mc- 
Clurg,  McCormack,  Meyer,  Moss,  Orr,  Phil- 
lips, Pipkin,  Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Ray,  Scott, 
Shackelford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Sheeley, 
Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Wal- 
ler, Welch,  Woodson,  Vanbuskirk,  and 
Zimmerman — 53. 

Mr.  BIRCH  moved  a  call  of  the  House, 
which  was  ordered,  when  the  following 
members  were  noted  as  being  absent: 
Messrs.  Collier,  Comingo,  and  Gravelly. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  HALL  of  B.,  further 
proceeding  under  the  call  was  dispensed 
with. 

Mr.  ALLEN  moved  the  House  adjourn  until 
to-morrow  morning  at  9  o'clock,  which 
motion  was  decided  in  the  negative. 

The  question  recurring  upon  agreeing  to 
the  amendment  of  Mr.  Breckinridge,  it  was 
agreed  to  by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes 
and  noes  being  called  for  by  Mr.  Breckin- 
ridge : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckin- 
ridge, Bridge,  Bush,  Douglass,  Eitzen,  Hall 
of  B.,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How, 
Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Johnson,  Kidd, 
Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McCormack, 
McClurg,  Meyer,  Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Ran- 
kin, Scott,  Shackelford,  Shanklin,  Smith 
of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Welch,  and 
Vanbuskirk— 35. 


25 


NOES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Birch,  Brown, 
Calhoun,  Cayce,  Doniphan,  Donnell,  Drake, 
Dunn,  Frayscr,  Flood,  Hovvcll,  lludgens, 
Jamison,  Marmaduke,  Matson,  McDowell, 
McFerran,  Moss,  Orr,  Pipkin,  Ray,  Ross, 
Rowland,  Sayre,  Sheeley,  Waller,  Wood- 
eon,  Woolfolk,  and  Zimmerman — 31. 

The  first  section  of  said  ordinance^was 
then  agreed  to  by  the  following  vote,  the 
ayes  and  noes  being  demanded  by  Mr. 
Breckinridge : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckin- 
ridge,  Bridge,  Bush,  Douglass,  Eitzen,  Hall 
of  B.,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How, 
Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson, 
Kidd,  Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  Mc- 
Clurg,  McCormack,  McFerran,  Meyer,  Orr, 


Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Scott,  Shackel- 
ford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith 
of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Welch,  Woolfolk,  and 
Vanbuskirk— 39. 

NOES — Messrs^  Bass,  Bast,  Birch,  Brown, 
Calhoun,  Cayce,  Doniphan,  Donnell,  Drake, 
Dunn,  Frayser,  Flood,  Howell,  lludgens, 
Marmaduke,  Matson,  McDowell,  Moss,  Pip- 
kin, Ray,  Ross,  Rowland,  Sayre,  Sheeley, 
Waller,  Woodson,  and  Zimmerman — 27. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS  moves  to  reconsider  the  vote 
just  taken  and  to  lay  the  motion  to  recon- 
sider on  the  table,  which  motion  to  lay  on 
the  table  was  agreed  to. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ALLEN,  the  Convention 
adjourned  until  to-morrow  morning  at  9 
o'clock. 


EIGHTH   DAT. 


TUESDAY  MORNING,  June  10,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment, and  was  opened  with  prayer  by  Mr. 
ALLEN. 

The  Journal  of  the  proceedings  of  yester- 
day was  read  and  approved. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS  offered  the  following  reso- 
lution, which  was  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  one  hour  of  the  morning 
sessions  of  the  Convention  be  fixed  for  the 
reception  of  reports  from  committees. 

Mr.  WELCH,  Vice  President  and  Acting 
President  of  the  Convention,  asked  to  be, 
and  was  on  motion  excused  from  serving  on 
all  committees  upon  which  he  has  been 
appointed  in  this  Convention. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS,  from  the  committee  to 
whom  was  referred  the  memorial  of  Phi- 
lander Draper  and  others,  made  the  follow- 
ing report : 

"The  committee  to  whom  was  referred 
the  memorial  of  Philander  Draper  and 
others,  ask  leave  to  report  '  An  ordinance 
for  the  appointment  of  a  Commissioner  to 
audit  certain  claims  against  the  State/  and 
recommend  its  passage. 

BROADHEAD,  Chairman." 


On  motion  of  Mr.  DOUGLASS,  the  ordi- 
nance was  laid  on  the  table,  subject  to  be 
called  up  at  any  time. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  on  leave  of  the  Conven- 
tion, called  up  an  ordinance  heretofore 
reported  from  the  Committee  on  the  Militia, 
and  on  his  motion  200  copies  were  ordered 
to  be  printed,  viz  :  "An  ordinance  for  pay- 
ment of  Division  Inspectors  and  for  other 
purposes." 

Mr.  POMEROY  submitted  the  following : 

"The  select  committee  to  whom  was  refer- 
red an  ordinance  entitled  "  An  ordinance 
for  the  distribution  of  Laws  therein  named," 
beg  leave  to  report  the  same  to  the  Con- 
vention, and  recommend  its  adoption. 

POMEROY,  Chairman." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  the  ordi- 
nance was  laid  on  the  table. 

Mr.  WOODSON  presented  a  memorial  from 
Professor  G.  G.  Swallow,  which  on  his 
motion  was  referred  to  the* Committee  on 
Finance. 

Mr.  ORR,  from  a  select  committee  to  whom 
was  referred  "  An  ordinance  in  relation  to 
the  duties  of  Register  of  Lands  and  County 
Assessors,"  reported  the  same  back  with 
amendments,  and  recommended  its  passage. 


26 


On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  the  ordi- 
nance was  laid  on  the  table  and  200  copies 
ordered  to  be  printed. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  McCnjRG,  "An  ordi- 
nance for  the  appointment  of  Artillery 
Officers,"  reported  from  the  Committee  on 
the  Militia  as  follows,  was  then  taken  up  : 

«  AN  ORDIN  A NCE  FOR  T  HE  APPOINTMENT  OF 
ARTILLERY  OFFICERS— FOR  THE  GREATER 
EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  IMPORTANT  ARM  OF 
THE  MILITARY  SERVICE,  THE  ARTILLERY. 

klBe  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  That  the  Governor  is  hereby  authorized 
to  appoint  and  commission  all  officers  of 
artillery  companies  in  the  Missouri  State 
Militia." 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  offered  the  following 
amendment,  which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend  by  way  of  new  section  as  follows  : 
"  SEC.  2.  This  ordinance  may  be  repealed 
at  any  time  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
this  State." 

The  ordinance  as  amended  was  adopted. 

Mr.  ZIMMERMAN,  offered  the  following  reso- 
lution, which,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Allen,  was 
laid  on  the  table  : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  adjourn 
on  next  Thursday  and  stand  adjourned 
until  the  next  Legislature  is  elected  and 
duly  qualified  :  Provided,  however,  if  the 
chief  executive  shall  deem  it  necessary  he 
may  at  any  time  call  the  Convention  to- 
gether, and  if  the  Convention  should  not  be 
called  together  before  the  Legislature  is 
elected  and  qualified,  it  shall  then  stand 
adjourned  sine  die. 

Mr.  IRWIN,  from  a  select  committee,  made 
the  following  report : 

"  The  committee  to  whom  was  referred 
the  petition  of  sundry  citizens  of  the  Fourth 
Conventional  District,  composed  of  the 
counties  of  Andrew,  Nodaway,  Holt,  and 
Atchison,  praying  for  the  expulsion  of  Hon. 
Prince  L.  Hudgens  from  the  Convention, 
would  beg  leave  to  report  that  they  have 
had  under  consideration  the  said  petition 
and  the  matters  therein  contained,  and, 
after  a  careful  investigation  of  the  charge 
alleged  and  set  forth  therein,  are  of  opinion 


that  the  evidence  produced  before  your 
committee  is  insufficient  to  justify  the  Con- 
vention in  expelling  the  said  Hudgens  from 
his  seat  upon  this  floor,  and  therefore  re- 
commend that  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners 
be  not  granted." 

The  Convention  having  resumed  the  con- 
sideration of  the  third  section  of  the  ordi- 
nance entitled  "An  ordinance  defining  the 
qualifications  of  voters  and  civil  officers  in 
this  State,"  Mr.  SCOTT  offered  to  amend  as 
follows : 

Amend  the  fifteenth  line,  after  the  word 
"officers,"  as  follows:  "and  all  Circuit 
and  County  Clerks." 

Amendment  disagreed  to. 

Mr.  Ho  WELL  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment :  Amend  the  amendment  by  insert- 
ing after  the  words  "  State  of  Missouri," 
the  words  "  nor  since  the  17th  day  of  De- 
cember, 1861;"  which  was  disagreed  to  by 
the  following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  called 
for  by  Mr.  Pipkin  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Bast,  Birch,  Brown,  Cal- 
houn,  Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo,  Donnell, 
Drake,  Dunn,  Frayser,  Flood,  Howell, 
Marmaduke,  Matson,  Pipkin,  Ray,  Sayre, 
Sheeley,  Waller,  Woodson,  and  Zimmerman 
—22. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckin- 
ridge,  Bridge,  Bush,  Doniphan,  Douglass, 
Eitzen,  Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks, 
Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Irwin,  Isbell, 
Jamison,  Johnson,  Leeper,  Linton,  Long, 
Marvin,  McClurg,  McCormack,  McDowell, 
McFerran,  Meyer,  Moss,  Orr,  Phillips, 
Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Ross,  Rowland,  Scott, 
Shackelford  of  St.  L,,  Shanklin,  Smith  of 
L.,  Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Welch,  Wool- 
folk,  and  Vanbuskirk — 44. 

The  third  section  of  said  ordinance  was 
then,  as  amended,  adopted. 

The  fourth  section  was  then  taken  up 
and  agreed  to. 

The  fifth  section  was  taken  up,  when  Mr. 
MCFERRAN  offered  to  amend  the  same  as 
follows : 

Amend,  after  the  word  "  Gospel'5  in  the 
third  line,  by  inserting  the  words  "  Presi- 
dent, Directors,  Professors,  and  Tutors  of 
the  State  University ;"  which  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  offered  the  following 
amendment  to  the  ordinance : 

Amend  by  striking  out  the  fifth  section, 
and  inserting  the  following  in  lieu  thereof : 


27 


SEC.  5.  The  courts  of  this  State  shall  re- 
quire all  jurymen  and  attorneys  to  take 

and  subscribe  the  following  oath :  u  I, , 

do  solemnly  swear,  (or  affirm,  as  the  case 
may  be,)  that  I  will  support,  protect  and  de- 
fend the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri, against  all  enemies  or  opposers, 
•whether  domestic  or  foreign;  that  I  will 
Ju-ju-  true  faith,  loyalty,  and  allegiance  to 
the  United  States,  and  will  not,  directly  or 
indirectly,  adhere  to  the  enemies  or  oppo- 
sers thereof,  or  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment of  the  State  of  Missouri,  by  giving 
them  aid  and  comfort,  any  ordinance,  law, 
or  resolution  of  any  State  Convention  or 
Legislature,  or  of  any  order  or  organiza- 
tion, secret  or  otherwise,  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding ;  and  that  I  do  this  with  a  full 
and  honest  determination,  pledge  and  pur- 
pose, without  any  mental  reservation  or  eva- 
sion whatever :  So  help  me  God."  The  same 
oath  shall  also  be  taken  and  subscribed  by 
the  President,  Professors  and  Curators  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  by  all 
Bank  officers,  Common  School  teachers  who 
are  paid  wholly  or  in  part  by  the  funds 
provided  by  law,  and  Common  School  trus- 
tees, all  officers  of  all  incorporated  com- 
panies of  this  State,  and  by  all  licensed  or 
ordained  preachers  of  the  Gospel  before 
performing  the  ceremony  of  marriage  in 
this  State,  and  filed  in  any  County  Clerk's 
office  in  this  State ;  and  every  licensed  or 
ordained  preacher  of  the  Gospel  who  shall 
perform  the  ceremony  of  marriage  in  this 
State  before  taking  said  oath,  and  every 
other  person  aforesaid  assuming  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  pertaining  to  his  said  avo- 
cation under  the  laws  of  this  State,  without 
complying  with  the  provisions  of  this  sec- 
tion, shall  be  liable  to  prosecution  in  any 
court  of  competent  jurisdiction  in  this  State, 
by  indictment,  and  upon  conviction  shall 
be  punished  for  each  offence  by  a  fine  not 
less  than  ten  nor  more  than  two  hundred 
dollars.  This  section  shall  take  effect  ninety 
days  from  the  passage  of  this  ordinance." 

Mr.  ORR  offered  the  following :  Amend 
the  fifth  section  by  striking  out  all  that 
relates  to  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  school 
teachers,  and  school  trustees. 


Pending  which,  on  motion  of  Mr.  SIIEE- 
LEY,  the  Convention  adjourned  until  2£ 
o'clock  P.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment, and  resumed  the  consideration  of  the 
amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Orr  : 

The  amendment  was  disagreed  to  by  the 
following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  being 
called  for  by  Mr.  Orr. 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Brown,  Cal- 
houn,  Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo,  Doniphan, 
Donnell,  Drake,  Dunn,  Frayser,  Flood, 
Gravelly,  Howell,  Hudgens,  Jamison, 
Kidd,  Matson,  Moss,  Orr,  Pipkin,  Pomeroy, 
Rankin,  Ray,  Rowland,  Sayre,  Sheeley, 
Waller,  Welch,  Woodson,  and  Zimmerman 
—32. 

NOES  —  Messrs.  Birch,  Breckinridge, 
Bridge,  Bush,  Douglass,  Eitzen,  Hall  of  B., 
Hendricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Ir- 
win,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Johnson,  Leeper,  Lin- 
ton,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McCormack,  Mc- 
Dowell, McFerran,  Meyer,  Phillips,  Ross, 
Scott,  Shackelford  of  St.  L,,  Shanklin, 
Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart, 
Woolfolk,  and  Vanbuskirk— 33. 

The  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  MCFER- 
RAN to  the  5th  section  was  agreed  to  by 
the  following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  called 
for  by  Mr.  McFerran  : 

AYES  —  Messrs.  Bogy,  Breckinriclge, 
Bridge,  Bush,  Douglass,  Eitzen,  Hall  of  B., 
Hendricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Irwin, 
Isbell,  Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Kidd, 
Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg, 
McDowell,  McCormack,  McFerran,  Meyer, 
Phillips,  Rankin,  Rowland,  Scott,  Shack- 
elford of  St.  Louis,  Shanklin,  Smith  of 
Linn,  Stewart,  Woolfolk,  and  Vanbuskirk 
—36. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Bast,  Birch, 
Brown,  Calhoun,  Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo, 
Doniphan,  Donnell,  Drake,  Dunn,  Fray- 
ser, Flood,  Gravelly,  Howell,  Hudgens, 
Marmaduke,  Matson,  Moss,  Orr,  Pipkin, 
Pomeroy,  Ray,  Ross,  Sayre,  Sheeley,  Smith 
of  St.  L.,  Waller,  Welch,  Woodson,  and 
Zimmerman — 33. 

The  sixth  and  seventh  sections  were  then 
agreed  to. 

Mr.  COMINGO  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment to  the  ordinance : 

Strike  out  all  after  the  enacting  clause, 
and  insert  as  follows  : 


28 


"SECTION  1.  Every  person  who  now  is, 
or  who  shall  hereafter  become,  a  candidate 
for  any  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people  of 
the  State  of  Missouri,  before  his  name  shall 
be  placed  upon  the  poll  books  at  any  elec- 
tion held  by  virtue  or  in  pursuance  of  any 
of  the  laws  or  ordinances  of  the  State,  shall 
file  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  county 
court  of  the  county  in  which  he  resides,  his 
affidavit  to  the  following  effect : 

"  1^ y  of  the  county  of ,  can- 
didate for  the  office  of ,  do  solemnly 

swear  (or  affirm,  as  the  ease  may  be)  that 
I  will  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  State 
of  Missouri;  that  I  will  neither  directly 
nor  indirectly  give  aid  or  comfort  to  the 
enemies  of  either  of  said  governments, 
but  that  I  will  well  and  faithfully  labor  to 
preserve,  maintain  and  uphold  them  both, 
and  to  protect  them  against  all  their  enemies, 
whether  domestic  or  foreign ;  that  I  will 
not  at  any  time,  nor  in  any  manner,  coun- 
tenance any  plan,  effort  or  purpose  to  sever 
or  disturb  the  present  Federal  relations  of 
the  State  of  Missouri  with  the  United 
States  ;  nor  to  interfere  with  or  disturb 
the  authority  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  in  any  place  or  State  where 
it  now  is,  or  has  heretofore  been,  or  may 
hereafter  be  exercised;  nor  will  I  leave 
any  of  such  plans,  efforts  or  purposes  un- 
exposed  to  the  proper  authorities  should 
they  come  to  my  knowledge,  or  should  I 
receive  information  thereof;  and  that  I 
take  this  oath  freely  and  voluntarily,  with- 
out any  mental  reservation  or  evasion 
whatsoever,  with  a  full  determination, 
pledge  and  purpose  faithfully  to  observe 
and  keep  it,  any  ordinance,  resolution  or 
law  of  any  State  Convention,  Legislature, 
order  or  organization,  secret  or  otherwise, 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  So  help 
ne  God. 

"  SEC.  2.  Said  affidavit  may  be  made  be- 
fore any  officer  authorized  to  administer 
oaths  in  the  county  in  which  the  affiant  re- 
sides ;  and  when  made  in  any  other  county, 
or  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri, shall  be  made  before  a  notary  pub- 
lic, commissioner  of  deeds,  or  the  clerk 
of  a  court  of  record,  and  certified  under 


his  seal  of  office.  And  all  candidates  for 
State  offices  shall  cause  a  certified  copy  of 
said  affidavit  to  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri, within  twenty  days  after  the  day  of 
the  election,  to  fill  the  office  or  offices  to 
which  they  aspire.  And  any  failure  or  re- 
fusal to  take  and  file  the  affidavit  as  herein 
before  required,  shall  render  null  and  void 
all  votes  cast  for  the  candidate  or  candi- 
dates so  failing  or  refusing. 

"  SEC.  3.  No  person  who  has,  at  any 
time,  been  in  the  military  service  of  the 
so-called  Confederate  States  of  America, 
or  who  has,  at  any  time,  taken  an  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  government  of  said  States, 
shall  be  qualified  to  hold  any  office  of 
honor,  profit  or  trust  under,  nor  to  vote  at 
any  election  held  in  pursuance  of,  the  Con- 
stitution and  laws  of  this  State  :  Provided, 
however,  that  the  General  Assembly  of 
this  State  may  at  any  time  repeal  or  modify 
this  ordinance,  or  any  part  thereof,  with 
respect  to  such  persons,  or  any  of  them, 
either  by  general  or  special  act,  upon  such 
terms  as  in  their  judgment  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  State  may  require. 

u  SEC.  4.  No  person  who,  after  the  pas- 
sage of  this  ordinance,  shall  take  up  arms 
!  against  the  United  States,  or  this  State,  or 
who  shall  adhere  to,  or  voluntarily  give  aid, 
assistance  or  encouragement  to  those  who 
may  thus  take  up  arms,  or  to    those  en- 
!  gaged  in  carrying  on  the  present  rebellion, 
'  shall  be   qualified  to   hold   any   office   of 
i  honor,  profit  or  trust  under  the  constitution 
and  laws  of  this  State,  nor  to  vote  at  any 
election  held  under  or  in  pursuance  of  said 
constitution  and  laws  :  Provided,  however, 
that  these  disabilities,  or  either  of  them, 
may  be  removed  in  the  manner  prescribed 
in  the  third  section  of  this  ordinance. 

"SEC.  5.  Every  person  who  shall  here- 
after be  elected  or  appointed  to  any  civil 
office  within  this  State,  under  the  constitu- 
tion and  laws  thereof,  whether  State,  coun- 
ty, or  municipal,  and  the  judges  and  clerks 
of  all  elections  held  under  the  laws  of  this 
State,  shall,  before  entering  upon  the  du- 
ties of  such  office,  take  and  subscribe  an 
affidavit,  in  substance  as  set  forth  in  the 
first  section  of  this  ordinance. 


29 


"  SEC.  6.  Any  person  who  shall  falsely 
take,  or  having  taken,  shall  thereupon  wil- 
fully violate  any  oath  prescribed  by  this 
ordinance,  shall,  upon  conviction  thereof 
by  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  be 
adjudged  guilty  of  the  crime  of  perjury, 
and  shall  be  punished  therefor  in  accord- 
ance with  existing  laws.  And  it  shall  be 
the  duty  of  the  judges  of  all  courts  having 
criminal  jurisdiction  under  the  laws  of  this 
State,  specially  to  charge  the  grand  juries 
in  the  counties  in  which  such  courts  shall 
be  held  respectively,  and  of  all  grand  juries 
in  the  performance  of  their  duties  under 
the  laws  of  this  State,  specially  to  inquire 
concerning  the  commission  of  any  act  of 
perjury  mentioned  or  made  punishable  by 
this  or  any  other  ordinance  adopted  by  this 
Convention." 

The  amendment  was  disagreed  to  by  the 
following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  called 
for  by  Mr.  Rowland  : 

AYES  —  Messrs.  Bast,  Birch,  Calhoun, 
Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo,  Donnell,  Drake, 
Dunn,  Frayser,  Marrnaduke,  Pipkin,  Row- 
land, and  Welch— 14. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Bogy,  Breek- 
inridge,  Bush,  Bridge,  Douglass,  Eitzen, 
Flood,  Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks, 
Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Irwin,  Isbell, 
Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Kidd,  Leeper, 
Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McCor- 
mack,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Meyer,  Orr, 
Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Ross,  Scott, 
Shackelford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of 
L.,  Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  VVoolfolk, 
Vanbuskirk,  and  Zimmerman — 44. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS  offered  the  following 
amendment,  which  was  disagreed  to  : 

"  SEC.  8.  In  case  the  General  Assembly 
shall  not  repeal  this  ordinance  sooner,  this 
ordinance  shall  cease  to  be  in  force  and 
effect  so  soon  as  the  present  rebellion  shall 
be  ended.5' 

The  question  now  being  on  the  passage 
of  the  ordinance  as  amended,  it  was  adopt- 
ed by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes  and 
noes  being  demanded  by  Mr.  Brown  : 

AYES  —  Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckin- 
ridge,  Bridge,  Bush,  Douglass,  Eitzen,  Gra- 
velly, Hall  of  B.,  Henderson^  Hitchcock, 
Holmes,  How,  Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Jami- 
son, Johnson,  Kidd,  Leeper,  Linton,  Long, 
Marvin,  McClurg,  McCormack,  McDowell, 
McFerran,  Meyer,  Orr,  Phillips,  Pomeroy, 
Rankin,  Rowland,  Scott,  Shackelford  of  St. 


L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L., 
Stewart,  Woolfolk,  Vanbuskirk,  and  Zim- 
merman— 42. 

NOES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Birch,  Brown, 
Calboun,  Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo,  Doni- 
phan,  Donnell,  Drake,  Dunn,  Frayser, 
Flood,  Howell,  Hudgens,  Marmadude,  Mat- 
son,  Moss,  Pipkin,  Ray,  Ross,  Sayre,  Shee- 
ley,  Waller,  Welch,  and  Woodson— 27. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  moved  to  reconsider  the 
vote  just  taken,  and  then  to  lay  the  motion 
to  reconsider  upon  the  table,  which  was 
adopted. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  by  leave  of  the  Conven- 
tion, called  up  the  ordinance  reported  by 
the  Committee  on  Elections,  entitled, 

"AN  ORDINANCE  CONTINUING  THE  PRES- 
ENT PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT  IN 
OFFICE. 

"  Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  Missouri 

in  Convention  assembled : 

"  SECTION  1.  That  the  Governor,  Lieuten- 
ant Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State,  here- 
tofore appointed  by  this  Convention,  shall 
continue  in  office  until  the  first  Monday  in 
August,  A.  D.  1864,  and  until  their  succes- 
sors are  duly  elected  and  qualified,  and 
shall  discharge  the  duties  and  exercise  the 
privileges  which  pertain  to  their  respective 
offices." 

Mr.  Moss  offers  the  following  amend- 
ment: 

Amend  by  adding  the  following  additional 
sections,  viz  : 

"SEC.  2.  That  the  election  required  by 
existing  law  to  be  held  on  the  first  Monday 
in  August,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-two,  for  Senators  and  Represen- 
tatives in  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State,  and  for  justices  of  the  county  courts, 
and  sheriffs,  coroners,  and  county  and 
township  officers,  be  and  the  same  is  here- 
with dispensed  with. 

"SEC.  3.  In  lieu  of  said  election  of  sher- 
iffs, county  court  justices,  and  coroners, 
above  dispensed  with,  the  Governor  shall 
appoint  a  sheriff  and  coroner  for  each 
county  in  the  State,  and  county  court  jus- 
tices in  counties  where  vacancies  may  oc- 
cur, who  shall  hold  their  respective  offices 
for  the  same  term  and  in  like  manner  as  if 
they  had  been  elected  on  said  first  Monday 
in  August,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two. 


"  SEC.  4,  In  the  event  of  any  other  State, 
county  or  township  office  being  or  becoming 
vacant  prior  to  the  first  Monday  in  August, 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three,  by  limit- 
ation, death,  resignation  or  otherwise,  such 
office  or  offices  so  becoming  vacant  shall 
be  filled  by  the  proper  authorities  under 
existing  laws  j  (authorities  to  fill  vacancies 
in  such  offices  by  appointment ;)  and  offi- 
cers appointed  to  fill  vacancies  as  afore- 
said shall  hold  their  said  offices  for  the 
time  as  if  they  had  been  appointed  or 
elected  under  existing  laws." 

Mr.  IRWJN  offers  the  following  amend- 
ment, which  was  accepted  by  Mr.  Moss  : 

Amend  by  adding  an  additional  section, 
as  follows  : 

"  SEC.  5.  If  at  any  time  prior  to  the  first 
Monday  in  August,  1864,  the  Governor 
shall  be  of  the  opinion  that  the  welfare  of 
the  Commonwealth  requires  it,  he  may 
order  an  election  to  be  held  for  Senators 


and  Representatives  in  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  State,  anything  in  this  ordi- 
nance to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 

Mr.  Moss,  by  leave,  adds  an  additional 
section  as  follows  : 

t(  SEC.  6.  When  any  vacancy  shall  occur 
in  any  office  by  death,  resignation,  expira- 
tion of  the  term  of  office,  or  from  any  other 
cause,  the  proper  authorities  designated 
by  law  to  fill  vacancies  shall  fill  such  va- 
cant offices  by  appointment;  and  when  no 
appointing  power  is  prescribed  by  law, 
such  offices  shall  be  filled  by  appointment 
by  the  Governor.  Appointments  to  fill 
vacancies  caused  by  the  expiration  of  the 
term  of  office  shall  be  for  the  legal  term 
thereof,  all  other  appointments  shall  be  for 
the  residue  of  the  term  only." 

Pending  the  consideration  of  which,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  POMEROY,  the  Convention 
adjourned  until  to-morrow  morning  at 
9  o'clock. 


NINTH   DAY. 


WEDNESDAY  MORNING,  June  11,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment, and  was  opened  with  prayer  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  ALLEN. 

The  Journal  was  being  read,  when,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  IRWIN,  its  further  reading 
was  dispensed  with. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS  gave  notice  that  on  to- 
morrow he  would  introduce  an  ordinance 
supplementary  to  the  ordinance  entitled 
61  An  ordinance  defining  the  qualifications 
of  voters  and  civil  officers  in  this  State," 
providing  to  limit  the  operations  of  the 
first  section  thereof  to  the  last  day  of  July, 
1864. 

The  regular  order  being  the  considera- 
tion of  the  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Moss 
to  "  An  ordinance  continuing  the  present 
Provisional  Government  in  office,"  as  re- 
ported by  the  Committee  on  Elections,'5 
Mr.  WOOLFOLK  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment : 


Amend  the  amendment  by  striking  out 
ee  for  Senators  and  Representatives  in  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State,"  and  in 
the  second  and  third  line  of  section  2  of 
the  amendment ;  also  strike  out  section  5 
of  amendment.  And  afterwards,  by  leave, 
withdrew  his  amendment. 

Pending  the  consideration  of  the  amend- 
ment of  Mr.  Moss,  on  motion  of  Mr.  MAR- 
VIN, the  Convention  adjourned  until  2J 
o'clock  P.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment. 

The  question  under  consideration  being 
the  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Moss,  it  was 
disagreed  to  by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes 
and  noes  being  called  for  by  Mr.  Moss  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Bast,  Birch, 
Brown,  Calhoun,  Cayce,  Collier,  Doniphan, 
Donnell,  Drake,  Dunn,  Frayser,  Flood, 


31 


Ho  well,  Hudgens,  Irwin,  Marmaduke,  Mat- 
son,  Moss,  Pipkin,  Rankin,  Ray,  Sayre, 
Shackelford  of  H.,  Waller,  Welch,  Wood- 
son,  and  Zimmerman — 29. 

NOES — Messrs.  Bogy,  Breckinridge,  Bush, 
Brown,  Comingo,  Douglass,  Eitzen,  Gra- 
velly, Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock, 
Holmes,  How,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Jamison, 
Johnson,  Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin, 
McClurg,  McCormack,  McDowell,  McFer- 
ran,  Meyer,  Orr,  Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Ritch- 
ey,  Ross,  Rowland,  Scott,  Shackelford  of 
St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St. 
L.,  Stewart,  Woolfolk,  and  Vanbuskirk— 40. 

PAIRED  OFF — Messrs.  Sheeley  and  Broad- 
lu-ud. 

The  ordinance  was  then  disagreed  to  by 
the  following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  being 
called  for  by  Mr.  McFerran  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Brown,  Cal- 
houn,  Cayce,  Collier,  Doniphan,  Donnell, 
Drake,  Flood,  Holmes,  Howell,  Irwin, 
Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Kidd,  Leeper, 
McFerran,  Moss,  Orr,  Phillips,  Ray,  Sayre, 
Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L., 
Welch,  Woodson,  Woolfolk,  and  Vanbus- 
kirk—31. 

NOES — Messrs.  Bast,  Bogy,  Breckinridge, 
Bridge,  Bush,  Comingo,  Douglass,  Dunn, 
Eitzen,  Gravelly,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock, 
How,  Hudgens,  Isbell,  Linton,  Long,  Mar- 
maduke,  Marvin,  Matson,  McCormack, 
McClurg,  McDowell,  Meyer,  Pipkin,  Ran- 
kin, Ritchey,  Ross,  Rowland,  Scott,  Shack- 
elford of  H.,  Shackelford  of  St.  L.,  Stew- 
art, Waller,  and  Zimmerman — 35. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  called  up  an  ordinance 
heretofore  reported  by  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  viz.,  "  An  ordinance  to  enable 
citizens  of  this  State  in  the  military  service 
of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  State  of 
Missouri,  to  vote." 

Mr.  SMITH  of  Linn  offered  to  amend  as 
follows  : 

Amend  by  adding  to  the  first  section  the 
following  :  "  Provided  that  such  volunteers 
and  militia  are  within  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri on  the  day  of  election ; "  which  was 
disagreed  to. 


Mr.  ORR  called  up  an  ordinance  hereto- 
fore reported  by  him,  entitled  "  An  ordi- 
nance in  relation  to  the  duties  of  the  Re- 
gister of  Lands  and  County  Assessors." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  SMITH  of  L.,  the  further 
consideration  of  the  ordinance  was  post- 
poned until  to-morrow. 

Mr.  ALLEN  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion. 

Resolvedy  That  this  Convention  adjourn 
on  Saturday  next. 

Mr.  HOWELL  moved  to  amend  as  follows  : 
Strike  out  "Saturday,"  and  insert  "when 
it  gets  ready.55 

Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis  moved  to  lay  the 
amendment  and  resolution  on  the  table, 
which  was  adopted. 

Mr.  IRWIN  offered  an  ordinance  entitled 
"  An  ordinance  amending  the  third  article 
of  the  State  Constitution,"  and  on  his  mo- 
tion it  was  referred  to  a  select  committee, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Irwin,  Douglass,  and 
Dunn. 

Mr.  LEEPER  called  up  an  ordinance  re- 
ported from  the  Committee  on  the  Militia, 
entitled  "An  ordinance  for  the  payment  of 
Division  Inspectors  and  for  other  purposes." 

Mr.  LEEPER  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment. Add  as  an  additional  section: 

"  SEC.  4.  That  the  Governor  shall  appoint 
all  commissioned  officers  in  all  artillery 
companies  in  the  Missouri  State  Militia; 
and  hereafter  when  any  vacancy  shall  occur 
from  any  cause  in  the  companies  of  in- 
fantry or  cavalry  in  the  Missouri  State 
Militia,  said  vacancy  shall  be  filled  by 
appointment  of  the  Executive  of  this 
State." 

Which  was  decided  out  of  order  by  the 
President. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  COMINGO,  the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  until  to-morrow  morning  at 
9  o'clock. 


32 


TENTH   DAT. 


THURSDAY  MORNING,  June  12,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment, and  was  opened  with  prayer  by  the 
Chaplain,  Mr.  ALLEN. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BOGY,  the  reading  of 
the  Journal  was  dispensed  with. 

Mr.  ROWLAND  moved  the  reconsideration 
of  the  vote  taken  on  yesterday  by  which 
the  ordinance  entitled  "An  ordinance  con- 
tinuing the  Provisional  Government  of  this 
State  in  office"  was  rejected,  which  motion 
was  decided  in  the  affirmative  by  the  fol- 
lowing vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  being  called 
by  Mr.  Eitzen : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Bogy,  Breck- 
inridge,  Calhoun,  Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo, 
Donnell,  Douglass,  Drake,  Frayser,  Flood, 
Foster,  Hendricks,  Holmes,  Howell,  Irwin, 
Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Kidd,  Leeper, 
Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McUor- 
mack,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Orr,  Phillips, 
Pomeroy,  Scott,  Shackelford  of  H.,  Sbackel- 
ford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith 
of  St.  L.,  Welch,  Woodson,  Woolfolk,  and 
Vanbuskirk — 43. 

NOES — Messrs.  Bast,  Bridge,  Brown, 
Bush,  Dunn,  Eitzen,  How,  Hudgens,  Isbell, 
Marmaduke,  Meyer,  Pipkin,  Stewart,  Wal- 
ler, and  Zimmerman — 15. 

Paired  off — Messrs.  Sheeley  and  Broad- 
head. 

Excused  from  voting — Mr.  Birch. 

The  question  being  on  the  adoption  of 
the  ordinance,  Mr.  COMINGO  moved  that  the 
further  consideration  of  the  question  be 
postponed  until  to-inorrow  morning,  which 
was  decided  in  the  negative. 

Mr.  HOWELL  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion : 

Resolved,  That  the  ordinance  be  re-com- 
mitted to  the  Committee  on  Elections  and 
Elective  Franchise,  with  instructions  to 
report  an  ordinance  for  the  postponement 
of  all  elections  to  some  future  time  when 
the  State  will  be  in  a  better  condition  to 
have  an  election. 

The  resolution  was  disagreed  to  by  the 
following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  called 
for  by  Mr.  Howell : 

AYES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Brown,  Cal- 
houn, Cayce.,  Doniphan,  Donnell,  Drake, 


Frayser,  Flood,  Howell,  Kidd,  Marmaduke, 
Matson,  Pipkin,  Ray,  Ritchey,  Sayre, 
Shackelford  of  H.,  Waller,  Welch,  Wood- 
son,  and  Zimmerman — 23. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Birch,  Bogy,  Breck- 
inridge,  Bridge,  Bush,  Comingo,  Dunn, 
Eitzen,  Gravelly,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock, 
Holmes,  How,  Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Jami- 
son, Johnson,  Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin, 
McClurg,  McCormack,  McDowell,  McFer- 
ran, Meyer,  Orr,  Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Rankin, 
Rowland,  Scott,  Shackelford  of  St.  L., 
Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L., 
Stewart,  Woolfolk,  and  Vanbuskirk — 41. 

The  ordinance  was  then  agreed  to  by  the 
following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  being 
called  for  by  Mr.  Howell : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Bogy,  Brown, 
Calhoun,  Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo,  Doni- 
phan,  Donnell,  Douglass,  Drake,  Frayser, 
Flood,  Hendricks,  Howell,  Holmes,  Irwin, 
Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Kidd,  Leeper, 
Long,  Marvin,  Matson,  McClurg,  McCor- 
mack, McDowell,  McFerran,  Orr,  Phillips, 
Pomerov,  Ray,  Ross,  Rowland,  Savre, 
Scott,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St. 
L.,  Welch,-  Woodson,  Woolfolk,  and  Van- 
buskirk— 45. 

NOES — Messrs.  Bast,  Breckinridge,  Bush, 
Bridge,  Dunn,  Eitzen,  Gravelly,  Hitchcock, 
How,  Hudgens,  Isbell,  Linton,  Marmaduke, 
Meyer,  Pipkin,  Ritchey,  Shackelford  of  H., 
Shackelford  of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Waller,  and 
Zimmerman — 21. 

Paired  off— Messrs.  Sheeley  and  Broad- 
head. 

Excused  from  voting — Messrs.  Hall  of  B., 
and  Birch. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  moved  to  reconsider  the 
vote  just  taken  and  to  lay  that  vote  on  the 
table,  which  motion  was  adopted. 

Mr.  DUNN  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion: 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  has  un- 
diminished  confidence  in  the  ability, 
integrity  and  patriotism  of  Governor  Gam- 
ble and  the  other  officers  of  the  Provisional 
Government  elected  by  this  Convention  at 
a  former  session,  and  now  continued  in 
office  by  an  ordinance  adopted  at  the  present 
session. 

The  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK,  by  leave  of  the  Conven- 
tion, recorded  his  vote  in  the  negative  on 


33 


the  proposition  to  reconsider  the  vote 
disagreeing  to  the  "Ordinance  continuing 
the  present  Provisional  Government  in 
office." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  the  "  ordi- 
nance to  enable  the  citizens  of  this  State 
in  the  military  service  of  the  United  States, 
or  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  to  vote,"  was 
taken  up. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  the  vote 
disagreeing  to  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Smith 
of  L.  to  the  said  ordinance  was  reconsider- 
ed j  the  amendment  is  as  follows  : 

Add  to  the  first  section  the  following  : 
"  Provided  that  such  volunteers  and  militia 
are  within  the  State  of  Missouri  on  the  day 
of  election." 

Pending  the  consideration  of  which3  on 
motion  of  Mr.  MCCORMACK,  the  Convention 
adjourned  until  2£  o'clock  P.  M. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment. 

Mr.  CAYCE  presented  a  memorial  from 
the  Justices  of  "Washington  County  Court, 
asking  the  Convention  to  rescind  an  act, 
passed  at  the  last  Legislature,  "  separating 
the  office  of  sheriff  from  that  of  collector  of 
revenue  of  said  county ;"  which,  on  his 
motion,  is  referred  to  a  select  committee 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Cayce,  Bogy,  and 
Rankin. 

The  regular  order  of  business  being  the 
amendment  of  Mr.  Smith  of  L.,  it  was  taken 
up,  and  disagreed  to  by  the  following  vote, 
the  ayes  and  noes  called  for  by  Mr.  Smith 
of  L.: 

AYES— Messrs.  Allen,  Bast,  Birch,  Brown, 
Bush,  Calhoun,  Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo, 
Donnell,  Drake,  Frayser,  Hitchcock,  How- 
ell,  Kidd,  Matson,  Orr,  Pipkin,  Pomeroy, 
Ritchey,  Shackelford  of  H.,  Shackelford  of 
St.  L.,  Sheeley,  Smith  of  L.,  Waller,  Welch, 
Woodson,  and  Zimmerman — 28. 

NOES  —  Messrs.  Bogy,  Breckinridge, 
Bridge,  Douglass,  Dunn,  Eitzen,  Gravelly, 
Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks,  Holmes,  How,  Irwin, 
Isbell,  Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Leeper, 
Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McCor- 
mack,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Meyer,  Phil- 
lips, Rankin,  Rowland,  Scott,  Shanklin, 
Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Woolfolk,  and 
Vanbuskirk— 34. 

3 


The  first  section  was  agreed  to  by  the 
following  vote,  the  nyes  and  noes  being 
called  for  by  Mr.  McFerran  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Birch,  Bogy,  Breck- 
inridge, Bridge,  Bush,  Douglass,  Dunn,  Eit- 
zen, Frayser,  Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Hen- 
dricks, Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Irwin, 
Isbell,  Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Leeper, 
Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McCor- 
mack,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Meyer,  Phil- 
lips, Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Rowland,  Scott, 
Shackelford  of  St.  L,,  Shanklin,  Smith  of 
L.,  Stewart,  Welch,  Woolfolk,  and  Van- 
buskirk—42. 

NOES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Brown,  Cal- 
houn, Cayce,  Donnell,  Drake,  Flood,  How- 
ell,  Hudgens,  Matson,  Orr,  Pipkin,  Ritchey, 
Sayre,  Shackelford  of  H.,  Smith  of  L.,  Wal- 
ler, Woodson,  and  Zimmerman — 20. 

The  2d,  3d,  4th,  5th,  6th,  7th,  8th,  9th, 
10th  and  llth  sections  were  taken  up  and 
agreed  to. 

Mr.  BIRCH  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment, which  was  agreed  to  : 

Strike  out  of  lines  2d  and  3d  in  section 
12  the  words  "  knowing  he  is  not  entitled 
to  vote ;"  and,  as  amended,  section  12  was 
agreed  to. 

Mr.  DUNN  moved  to  amend  the  13th  sec- 
tion by  striking  out  the  word  "not"  in 
said  section,  which  was  agreed  to  by  the 
following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  being 
called  for  by  Mr.  Woodson  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Birch,  Bo,gy, 
Breckinridge,  Brown,  Bush,  Calhdtm, 
Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo,  Donnell,  Doug- 
lass, Drake,  Dunn,  Eitzen,  Frayser,  Flood, 
Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock, 
Holmes,  Howell,  Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson, 
Jamison,  Johnson,  Kidd,  Long,  Marvin, 
Matson,  McClurg,  McCormack,  McDowell, 
Meyer,  Orr,  Phillips,  Pipkin,  Pomeroy, 
Rankin,  Ritchey,  Rowland,  Sayre,  Shackel- 
ford of  H.,  Shackelford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin, 
Sheeley,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L., 
Stewart,  Waller,  Welch,  Woodson,  Wool- 
folk,  and  Zimmerman — 57. 

NOBS — Messrs.  Bridge,  How,  Leeper,  Lin- 
ton, McFerran,  Scott,  and  Vanbuskirk— 7. 

Mr.  POMEROY  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment, which  was  disagreed  to  : 

Amend  by  adding  to  13th  section  "and 
that  they  are  citizens  of  Missouri,  and  have 
been  for  twelve  months  preceding  the  day 
of  election." 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  offered  the  following 
amendment,  which  was  agreed  to  : 


34 


Amend  by  adding  a  new  section,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"SEC.  15.  Any  officer  or  other  person  in 
the  service  of  or  employment  of  the  United 
States,  or  the  State  of  Missouri,  being  a 
qualified  voter  under  the  constitution  and 
laws  of  this  State,  may  vote  at  any  election 
held  under  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance, 
subject  to  the  restrictions  and  limitations 
provided  by  this  ordinance." 

The  16th  section  was  then  read  and 
agreed  to,  and  the  ordinance  as  amended 
was  then  adopted. 

Mr.  McFERRAN,  from  the  Committee  on 
Elections  and  Elective  Franchise,  reported 
an  ordinance  entitled  "An  ordinance  in 
relation  to  voting  in  certain  counties,"  for 
the  consideration  of  the  Convention. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK  offered  the  following 
amendment : 

Amend  bv  way  of  new  section,  by  adding 
as  follows : 

"  SEC.  7.  No  election  shall  be  held  for 
sheriff,  coroner,  county  court  justices,  and 
other  township  and  county  officers ;  the 
vacancies  so  caused,  with  the  exception  of 
members  of  the  General  Assembly,  shall 
be  filled  by  the  proper  authorities  under 
existing  laws ;  but  in  all  cases  of  failure 
by  the  proper  authorities  to  appoint  per- 
sons to  fill  such  vacancies  within  twenty 
days  after  the  vacancy  occurs,  then  the 
Governor  shall  appoint  officers  to  fill  such 
vacancies  as  have  not  been  filled  by  the 
proper  authorities,  and  all  officers  appoint- 
ed to  fill  vacancies  as  aforesaid  shall  hold 
their  said  offices  for  the  same  time  as  if 
they  had  been  elected  under  existing  laws." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE,  the  ordi- 
nance was  laid  on  the  table,  and  200  copies 
ordered  to  be  printed,  and  made  the  spe- 
cial order  for  to-morrow  morning  at  10 
o'clock. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  DOUGLASS,  an  ordinance 
entitled  "  An  ordinance  in  relation  to  as- 
sessors and  collectors,"  reported  from  the 
Committee  on  Elections,  was  taken  up. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN  moved  the  following 
amendment,  which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend  by  adding  to  the  end  of  section 
1st  the  following  :  "  And  if  any  County 
Court  in  this  State  has  appointed  an  as- 


sessor for  the  year  1862,  who  has  already 
made  the  assessment  for  his  county,  such 
appointment  and  assessment  are  hereby 
legalized." 

Mr.  COMINGO  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment : 

Amend  by  adding  after  section  —  the 
following : 

Provided  1st.  That  the  tax- payers  of  the 
counties  of  Jackson,  Cass,  and  Bates,  are 
hereby  released  and  forever  discharged 
from  all  indebtedness  to  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri on  account  of  taxes  due  for  the  year 
1861 ;  provided,  however,  that  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  be  so  construed  as 
to  release  or  discharge  non-residents  of 
said  counties  from  the  payment  of  taxes 
therein  for  said  year. 

Second.  That  the  County  Courts  in  said 
counties  are  hereby  authorized  to  withhold 
from  the  collectors  of  taxes  the  tax  books 
for  the  year  1861,  and  upon  the  assess- 
ments made  for  the  year  1862  they  are  au- 
thorized to  levy  and  collect  for  county  pur- 
poses the  taxes  for  both  of  said  years, 
or  sp  much  of  said  taxes  as  they  may 
think  advisable  to  collect,  and  they  are 
also  authorized  and  required  to  cause  to 
be  collected  from  non-residents  of  said 
counties  the  full  amount  of  taxes  due  for 
the  same  periods. 

Third.  The  collectors  for  said  counties 
are  hereby  allowed  and  authorized  to  re- 
turn the  delinquent  lists  of  said  counties 
for  the  year  1862  to  their  respective  county 
courts  at  any  time  prior  to  the  first  day  of 
December,  1863  ;  and  should  said  collectors, 
or  either  of  them,  fail,  neglect,  or  refuse 
to  return  their  delinquent  tax  lists  on  or 
before  the  day  mentioned,  they,  or  the  one 
so  doing,  shall  therefor  be  subject  to  all 
the  penalties  of  the  law  relative  to  delin- 
quent collectors :  provided,  that  this  sec- 
tion of  this  ordinance  shall  not  take  effect 
except  as  to  such  collectors  in  the  said 
counties  as  shall  obtain,  or  cause  to  be  ob- 
tained, the  consent  of  all  the  sureties  on 
their  bonds,  and  not  until  said  consent 
shall  have  been  obtained  and  perfected  in 
the  manner  prescribed  by  an  act  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  this  State,  approved 
January  26th,  1861,  and  entitled  "An  act 


35 


for  the  relief  of  the  collectors  of  the  re- 
venue.'5 

Mr.  ORR  offered  the  following  amendment 
to  the  amendment : 

Amend  the  amendment  by  adding  after 
the  word  "Bates,"  in  the  second  line,  the 
counties  of  Vernon,  Barton,  Jasper,  New- 


ton, McDonald,  Barry,  Lawrence,  Dado, 
Cedar,  Greene,  Stone,  Taney,  Webster, 
Polk,  Dallas,  Laclede,  Wright,  Texas,  How- 
ell,  Ozark,  Douglass,  and  Hickory." 

Pending  the  consideration  of  which,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  MARVIN,  the  Convention  ad- 
journed until  to-morrow  morning  at  nine 
o'clock. 


ELEVENTH   DAT. 


FRIDAY  MORNING,  June  13,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  ad- 
journment, and  was  opened  with  prayer  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  ALLEN. 

The  Journal  was  being  read,  when,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  LEEPER,  its  further  reading 
was  dispensed  with. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS,  from  the  Committee  on 
Finance,  made  the  following  report : 

"  The  Committee  on  Finance  beg  leave  to 
report  '  An  ordinance  appropriating  money 
to  pay  the  members  and  officers  of  the  Con- 
vention, and  to  defray  the  contingent  ex- 
penses thereof,'  and  recommend  its  pas- 
sage. W.  DOUGLASS,  C/I'TI." 

AN  ORDINANCE  APPROPRIATING  MONEY, 
Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the   State  of 

Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as  follows, 

to-wit : 

That  the  sum  of  twelve  thousand  dollars 
be  and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated  out 
of  any  money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise 
appropriated  for  the  pay  and  mileage  of 
members  and  officers  of  this  Convention, 
and  to  defray  the  contingent  expenses 
thereof. 

The  ordinance  was  adopted  by  the  Con- 
vention. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS,  from  the  same  committee, 
made  the  following  report  : 

"The  Committee  on  Finance  beg  leave 
to  report  an  ordinance  appropriating  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  in  defence  warrants,  to 
provide  for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wound- 
ed soldiers  of  Missouri,  and  recommend  its 
passage.  W.  DOUGLASS,  Ch'n." 


AN  ORDINANCE  APPROPRIATING  MONEY 
FOR  THE  CARE  OF  THE  SICK  AND  WOUND- 
ED SOLDIERS  OF  MISSOURI. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  Missouri  in 
Convention  assembled  as  follows  : 
1.  That  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
in   defence  warrants,  be  and  the  same  is 
hereby  appropriated  to  provide  for  the  care 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  of  Mis- 
souri, to  be  expended  under  the  direction 
of  the  Governor  of  the  State. 

The  ordinance  was,  on  motion,  adopted. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS,  from  the  same  committee, 
made  the  following  report,  which  was 
agreed  to : 

" The  Committee  on  Finance,  to  whom 
was  referred  the  memorial  of  A.  W.  Morri- 
son, late  Treasurer  of  this  State,  report 
that  they  have  considered  the  same,  and 
as  the  law  provides  that  the  accounts  of 
that  officer  must  be  examined  by  a  Commit- 
tee of  the  Legislature,  one  member  thereof 
from  the  Senate  and  two  from  the  House  of 
Representatives,  they  therefore  deem  it  in- 
expedient for  this  Convention  to  go  into 
the  examination  asked  for,  and  recommend 
that  the  prayer  of  the  memorialist  be  not 
granted,  and  that  the  committee  be  dis- 
charged from  the  further  consideration  of 
the  same.  W.  DOUGLASS,  Ch'n." 

Mr.  POMEROY  offered  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions, in  the  nature  of  a  memorial,  asking 
for  the  passage  of  an  Act  by  Congress  cre- 
ating a  Commission  for  the  liquidation  of 
claims  for  damages  sustained  under  wrongs 
committed  in  the  nature  of  trespass  by  the 


36 


Federal  army  during  the  past  year,  and  for 
property  taken  and  consumed  by  the  army, 
&c. 

The  memorial  was  read,  and,  on  motion 
of  Mr.  POMEROY,  referred  to  a  select  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  Messrs.  Pomeroy, 
Meyer,  Birch,  Dunn,  and  Marvin. 

Mr.  HALL  of  B.,  from  the  Committee  on 
the  Constitution,  reported  back  the  follow- 
ing ordinance  with  amendments,  and  re- 
commended its  passage : 

AN  ORDINANCE  REQUIRING  THE  STATE 
SENATORS  TO  BE  DIVIDED  INTO  CLASSES 
BY  LOT. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as  fol- 
lows : 

SECTION  1.  That  at  the  next  session  of 
the  General  Assembly,  the  Senators  shall  be 
divided  by  lot  into  classes,  as  provided  in 
the  seventh  section  of  the  third  article  of 
the  Constitution,  and  every  election  t.o  fill 
a  vacancy  in  the  Senate  shall  be  for  the 
residue  of  the  term  only. 

The  ordinance  was,  on  motion,  adopted. 
Mr.   IRWIN,    from   a    select    committee, 
made  the  following  report : 

"  The  committee  to  whom  was  referred 
the  ordinance  entitled  ( An  ordinance 
amending  the  third  article  of  the  State 
Constitution/  have  had  the  same  under 
consideration,  and  have  instructed  me  to 
report  the  same  to  the  Convention  with  the 
accompanying  amendment,  and  recommend 
its  passage.  IRWIN,  Ch?n." 

AN  ORDINANCE  AMENDING:  THE  THIRD  AR- 
TICLE OF  THE  STATE  CONSTITUTION. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State 

of  Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as 

follows : 

SECTION  1.  The  eighth  section  of  the 
third  article  of  the  Constitution  is  hereby 
abolished  and  the  following  adopted  in  lieu 
thereof : 

"  After  the  first  day  of  September,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two,  all 
general  elections  shall  commence  on  the 
Tuesday  next  after  the  first  Monday  in  No- 
vember, and  shall  be  held  biennially;  and 
the  electors  in  all  cases,  except  of  treason, 
felony  or  breach  of  the  peace,  shall  be  priv- 


ileged from  arrest  during  their  continuance 
at  elections,  and  in  going  to  and  returning 
from  the  same." 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  moved  to  lay  the  ordi- 
nance on  the  table  and  to  print  200  copies, 
which  motion  was  not  agreed  to. 

The  amendment  proposed  by  the  com- 
mittee was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK  offered  the  following 
amendment  : 

Strike  out  the  word  "  September"  in  the 
fifth  line,  and  insert  in  lieu  thereof  the 
word  "July." 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK  moved  to  lay  the  ordi- 
nance and  the  amendment  on  the  table  and 
print  200  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Conven- 
tion, and  to  make  it  the  special  order  for 
to-morrow  at  10  o'clock ;  which  was  not 
agreed  to. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN  offered  the  following 
amendment : 

"That  the  assessors  to  be  elected  for  the 
year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  as 
the  present  laws  now  stand,  shall  for  said 
year  be  appointed  by  the  Governor." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  HITCHCOCK,  the  ordi- 
nance and  amendments  were  laid  on  the 
table,  and  made  the  special  order  for  this 
day  at  3  o'clock  P.  M. 

Mr.  CAYCE,  from  a  select  committee, 
made  a  report  as  follows : 

"  The  committee  to  whom  was  referred 
the  petition  of  M.  F.  Williams,  John  Teas- 
dale,  and  William  S.  Murphy,  Justices  of 
the  County  Court  of  Washington  County, 
for  the  repeal  of  an  act  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  State  of  Missouri,  entitled 
( An  act  to  separate  the  office  of  Sheriff  and 
Collector  in  the  County  of  Washington/ 
have  had  the  same  under  consideration, 
and  have  instructed  me  to  report  the  ac- 
companying ordinance  and  recommend  its 
passage.  CAYCE,  Ch'n." 

The  ordinance  reported  entitled  "An  or- 
dinance to  repeal  an  act  of  the  General 
Assembly  entitled  *An  act  to  separate  the 
office  of  Sheriff  and  Collector  in  the  County 
of  Washington,'  approved  March  27,  1861, 
was  rejected. 

The  Convention  resumed  the  considera- 
tion of  the  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Orr 


37 


to  the  "  Ordinance  in  relation  to  Assessors 
and  Collectors,"  when  the  amendment  was 
disagreed  to. 

The  amendment  of  Mr.  Comingo  was  also 
disagreed  to. 

Mr.  HALL  of  B.  moved  to  lay  the  ordi- 
nance on  the  table,  which  was  decided  in 
the  negative  by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes 
and  noes  being  demanded  by  Mr.  Jamison: 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Cayce,  Fray- 
ser,  Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks,  Jami- 
son, Johnson,  Matson,  McDowell,  Pipkin, 
Ray,  Ritchey,  Ross,  Sayre,  Shackelford  of 
H.,  and  Sheeley— 18. 

NOES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bogy,  Breckinridge, 
Bridge,  Brown,  Bush,  Calhoun,  Collier, 
Comingo,  Doniphan,  Donnell,  Douglass, 
Drake,  Dunn,  Eitzen,  Flood,  Hitchcock, 
Holmes,  How,  Howell,  Irwin,  Jackson,  Kidd, 
Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg, 
McCormack,  McFerran,  Meyer,  Orr,  Phil- 
lips, Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Scott,  Shackeiford 
of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of 
St.  L.,  Stewart,  Waller,  Welch,  Woolfolk, 
Vanbuskirk,  and  Zimmerman — 47. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  offered  the  following 
amendment : 

Amend  by  striking  out  the  first  two  sec- 
tions of  the  ordinance ;  which  was  disa- 
greed to  by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes 
and  noes  called  for  by  Mr.  McFerran  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Bast,  Brown,  Breckin- 
ridge, Cayce,  Comingo,  Gravelly,  Hall  of 
B.,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock,  Jamison,  John- 
son, Kidd,  Marmaduke,  McCormack,  Mc- 
Dowell, McFerran,  Orr,  Pipkin,  Ray,  Ritch- 
ey, Ross,  Sa}n*e,  Shanklin,  Sheeley,  and 
Vanbuskirk— 25. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Birch,  Bogy, 
Bridge,  Bush,  Calhoun,  Collier,  Doniphan, 
Donnell,  Douglass,  Drake,  Dunn,  Eitzen, 
Frayser,  Flood,  Holmes,  How,  Howell,  Ir- 
win, Isbell,  Jackson,  Leeper,  Long,  Linton, 
Marvin,  Matson,  McClurg,  Mever,  Phillips, 
Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Rowland,  Scott,  Shack- 
elford of  H.,  Shackelford  of  St.  L.,  Smith 
of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Waller, 
Welch,  Woodson,  Woolfolk,  and  Zimmer- 
man— 44. 

The  President  laid  before  the  Convention 
the  following  communication  from  the 
Governor : 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 

"I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  a  sub- 
ject which  in  my  judgment  ought  to  be  act- 
ed upon. 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States,  in 
a  message  «ent  to  Congress  during  its  pres- 


ent session,  proposed  the  adoption  of  a 
joint  resolution  declaring  the  willingness 
of  Congress  to  furnish  aid  to  any  of  the 
slave  States  that  may  think  proper  to  adopt 
a  measure  of  gradual  emancipation.  The 
language  of  the  resolution  proposed  is  not 
quoted,  but  such  is  its  substance. 

"The  resolution  was  adopted  by  both 
Houses,  and  so  becomes  an  offer  by  Con- 
gress. If  we  assume  that  it  will  be  carried 
into  effect  by  appropriations  to  be  made  by 
a  future  Congress,  it  is  a  proposition  of 
unexampled  liberality,  and,  whatever  may 
be  the  views  of  the  members  of  the  Con- 
vention upon  the  subject  of  emancipation, 
the  proposition  calls  for  a  courteous  re- 
sponse. Courtesy  between  governments  is 
as  much  required  as  between  individuals. 

"  This  State  has  received  from  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  great  atten- 
tion and  kindness — large  armies  have  been 
maintained  for  our  protection  against  in- 
vasion, and  they  have  battled  gallantly  in 
our  defence — money  has  been  given  us  by 
the  Government  to  equip  our  own  citizens 
for  their  own  defence — and  now  a  consid- 
erable number  of  troops  of  our  own  people 
are  armed,  subsisted,  clothed  and  paid  by 
the  Government  in  order  that  we  may  pro- 
tect ourselves.  Under  such  treatment,  it 
would  be  unbecoming  to  pass  over  in  silent 
indifference  a  proposition  originating  with 
the  President  of  the  United  States. 

"  Many  of  our  own  citizens,  and  possibly 
the  authorities  at  Washington,  have  ex- 
pected that  the  Convention  would  take  some 
action  upon  a  scheme  of  gradual  emancipa- 
tion. The  Convention  has  acted  upon  an 
ordinance  containing  a  scheme  upon  this 
subject  by  laying  it  upon  the  table.  The 
course  thus  adopted  is  understood  to  dis- 
pose of  the  subject,  according  to  your 
rules,  for  your  present  session,  and  there- 
fore it  is  not  now  intended  to  propose  to 
you  to  re-open  and  reconsider  the  subject. 

"But  this  action  of  the  Convention  will, 
without  doubt,  be  so  misrepresented  as  to 
excite  a  hostile  feeling  to  the  State  among 
all  those  in  authority  who  favor  emancipa-. 
tion,  and  thus  injuriously  affect  the  inter- 
ests of  the  State.  As  no  reason  could  b'e 
given  upon  the  motion  by  which  the  ordi- 


38 


nance  was  disposed  of,  the  result  may  be 
represented  as  rudely  discourteous  to  the 
President  and  Congress.  The  manifest 
propriety  of  making  a  response  to  the  offer 
of  the  President  and  Congress  affords  an 
opportunity  of  removing  all  grounds  for 
such  an  unjust  and  injurious  imputation. 

"If,  in  the  understanding  of  the  Conven- 
tion, it  was  not  contemplated  by  the  peo- 
ple, when  electing  the  body,  that  it  should 
ever  act  upon  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the 
State,  and  therefore  such  action  would  be 
improper;  or,  if  the  Convention  believes 
that  the  public  mind  is  so  agitated  already 
that  the  proposal  of  any  scheme  of  eman- 
cipation would  produce  dangerous  excite- 
ment, there  can  be  no  objection  to  assign- 
ing either  as  a  reason  for  abstaining  from 
action  upon  the  subject,  and  leaving  it  for 
a  different  body  or  another  time.  When 
the  reason  is  thus  given,  misrepresentation 
is  prevented,  and  the  proposition  made  by 
the  President  and  Congress  is  so  answered 
that  there  will  be  no  appearance  of  a  de- 
sign to  treat  their  offer  with  neglect. 

i(  In  theory,  Conventions  are  understood 
to  possess  all  political  power,  but  in  actual 
practice  they  confine  themselves  to  the 
measures  upon  which  the  people  at  the 
time  of  their  election  expected  them  to  act. 
When  this  Convention  was  chosen,  the  sub- 
ject before  the  public  mind  was  the  rela- 
tions between  the  State  and  the  General 
Government.  Acting  upon  this  subject, 
the  Convention  deposed  a  Governor  and 
Legislature  because  they  were  trying  to 
disturb  those  relations  ;  militia  ordinances 
were  adopted,  because  a  military  force  was 
necessary  to  maintain  those  relations ;  the 
offices  of  all  persons  who  refused  to  take  an 
oath  of  allegiance  were  vacated,  because 
official  power  in  the  hands  of  disloyal  per- 
sons might  be  employed  to  disturb  such  re- 
lations ;  laws  were  vacated,  because  they 
had  been  passed  for  the  purpose  of  bring- 
ing on  a  collision  with  the  General  Govern- 
ment ; — in  fine,  the  action  of  the  Conven- 
tion has  been  mainly  addressed  to  the  one 
subject  which  it  was  elected  to  consider, 
and  to  those  which  naturally  arose  out 
of  it. 

"  When,  then,  it  is  asked  to  entertain  u 


proposition  which  is  to  effect  a  radical 
change  in  the  social  organization  of  the 
State,  it  is  well  warranted  in  declining  to 
act  upon  the  proposition  upon  the  ground 
that  the  people,  in  choosing  the  Convention, 
never  intended  or  imagined  that  the  body 
would  undertake  any  social  revolution 
wholly  unconnected  with  the  relations  be- 
tween the  State  and  the  General  Govern- 
ment. No  person  who  understands  the 
principles  of  our  government  would  object 
to  such  action,  unless  it  be  one  who  is  will- 
ing to  disregard  all  principle  to  accomplish 
a  desired  end. 

"  If  the  Convention,  assembled  from  all 
parts  of  the  State,  is  satisfied  that  in  the 
present  condition  of  the  public  mind  any 
proposition  upon  the  subject  of  emancipa- 
tion would  produce  excitement  dangerous 
to  the  peace  of  the  State,  the  statement  of 
that  as  a  reason  for  declining  to  act  upon 
the  offer  of  the  Government  ought  to  satis- 
fy every  person  that  such  declension  is  not 
intended  as  any  disrespect  to  any  other 
body  or  officer. 

i(  It  is  not  suggested  that  the  Convention 
is  to  make  any  apology  to  any  person ;  but 
as  the  proposition  made  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  is  one  which  is 
entitled  to  a  respectful  answer  in  express 
language,  it  would  be  very  appropriate  to 
adopt  a  resolution  as  a  direct  response. 
This  need  not  produce  any  general  discus- 
sion, as  it  need  not  involve  the  merits  of 
the  question  of  emancipation.  It  would 
only  be  an  act  of  courtesy  to  the  authori- 
ties of  our  own  Government,  who  have 
made  a  proposition,  which,  if  it  ever  be 
carried  into  effect,  will  exhibit  the  greatest 
liberality. 

"  It  is  therefore  submitted  to  the  Con- 
vention, that  a  resolution  be  adopted  which 
shall  be  a  response  to  the  offer  made  by  the 
President  and  Congress. 

H.  R.  GAMBLE." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  HALL  of  B.,  the  mes- 
sage was  laid  on  the  table,  and  200  copies 
ordered  to  be  printed. 

The  Convention  having  resumed  the  con- 
sideration of  the  ordinance,  Mr.  SHEELEY 
offered  the  following  amendment : 


39 


Amend  by  adding  at  the  end  of  the  first 
section  the  words  : 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  County  Court 
of  the  counties  of  Jackson,  Cass  and  Bates, 
to  cause  the  property  in  said  counties  to 
be  reassessed  for  the  year  1861,  and  only 
such  property  as  may  have  been  owned  on 
the  1st  day  of  February,  1862,  or  owned  on 
the  1st  day  of  February,  1861,  and  shall 
have  been  voluntarily  moved  out  of  the 
county,  shall  be  so  reassessed,  and  the  reve- 

»nue,  both  State  and  county,  in  said  coun- 
ties shall  be  taxed  on  such  reassessment ; 
and  the  assessments  heretofore  made  in  said 
counties  for  the  year  1861  are  declared  to 
be  of  no  effect." 

Mr.  MATSON  moved  to  amend  as  follows  : 
Strike   out   "the   counties  of   Jackson, 
Cass  and  Bates,"  and  let  it  apply  to  the 
whole  State  ;  which  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  COMINGO  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment : 

Amend  1st  section  by  striking  out  all 
after  the  word  "  shall"  in  the  5th  line,  and 
insert  as  follows  : 

"  Assess  all  property  owned  by  the  tax 
payers  of  said  counties  within  the  bounds 
thereof  on  the  1st  day  of  February,  1862, 
and  on  such  assessment  shall  be  levied  the 
taxes  for  the  year  1862,  and  the  clerks  of 
the  courts  of  said  counties  shall  make  out 
two  tax  books  from  said  assessment,  on  one 
of  which  shall  be  collected  the  taxes  for  the 
year  1881,  and  on  the  other  for  the  year 
1862 ;  and  the  assessments  made,  as  herein 
provided,  for  the  year  1862,  shall  be  re- 
turned to  the  proper  county  courts  .on  or 
before  the  1st  day  of  February,  1863." 

Also,  by  inserting  in  the  3d  line,  between 
the  words  "  collect"  and  "  the  taxes,"  the 
words  "  any  part  of." 

Mr.  SHACKELFORD  of  H.  moved  the  pre- 
vious  question ;    and   the    question   being 
"  Shall  the  main  question  be  now  put  ?' 
was  decided  in  the  negative. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  on  leave,  called  up  thi 
ordinance  entitled  "An  ordinance  in  re 
lation  to  voting  in  certain  counties,"  anc 
the  amendment  heretofore  offered  by  Mr 
Woolfolk  was  accepted. 

Mr.  SHACKELFORD  of  H.  moved  the  fol 
lowing  amendment : 


Strike  out  sections  1,  2,  3,  4  and  5. 

Mr.  HOWELL  moved  to  lay  the  ordinance 
,nd  amendment  on  the  table,  which  was 
lecided  in  the  negative. 

Mr.  BIRCH  moved  to  amend  as  follows  : 

Amend  by  striking  out  "  precincts"  in 
he  4th  line  of  the  1st  section,  and  insert 
6  township;"  strike  out  "  a  clerk"  in  1st 
ine  of  2d  section,  and  insert  "  two  clerks  ;" 
itrike  out  "precinct"  in  2d  line  of  3d  sec- 
ion,  and  insert  "  township  ;"  which  were 
severally  agreed  to. 

Mr.  DUNN  offered  to  amend  as  follows  : 

Insert  after  "time,"  in  the  5th  line  of 
1st  section,  the  words  "  and  place  ;"  which 
amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS  offered  the  following 
amendment,  which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend  section  1st,  in  line  4th,  by  insert- 
ng  after  the  word  "  and"  the  words  "  a 
majority  of." 

Mr.  BIRCH  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment, which  was  agreed  to  : 

Insert  after  the  word  "polls,"  in  5th 
[ine  of  section  1st,  the  words  "  which  shall 
be  at  the  same  place,  as  near  as  may  be, 
as  the  elections  were  authorized  to  be  for 
members  of  this  Convention.'' 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ZIMMERMAN,  the  Con- 
vention adjourned  until  half-past  2  o'clock. 


EVENING  SESSION. 

On  leave,  Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE  offered  the 
following  resolution,  which  was  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  the  special  message  of 
the  Governor  recommending  some  action 
by  the  Convention  in  response  to  the  pro- 
position of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  concerning  the  emancipation  of 
slaves,  made  at  the  instance  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  be  referred  to  a 
special  committee  of  five,  with  instructions 
to  report  without  delay  by  resolution  or 
otherwise. 

The  President  appointed  the  following 
gentlemen  as  the  select  committee  under 
said  resolution:  Messrs.  Breckinridge, 
Douglass,  Doniphan,  Orr,  and  Howell. 

MR.  HITCHCOCK,  on  leave,  offered  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions  : 


40 


WHEREAS,  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  upon  the  special  recommendation  of 
the  President,  has,  at  its  present  session, 
adopted  a  joint  resolution  in  the  following 
words,  to-wit : 

"Resolved,  That  the  United  States  ought 
to  co-operate  with  any  State  which  may 
adopt  a  gradual  abolishment  of  slavery, 
giving  to  such  State  aid,  to  be  used  in  its 
discretion,  to  compensate  for  the  inconve- 
niences, public  and  private,  produced  by 
such  change  of  system.'5 

And  Whereas,  The  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  his  recent  proclamation 
revoking  and  annulling  a  certain  unauthor- 
ized declaration  assumed  to  be  made  by 
Major  General  David  Hunter,  of  the  United 
States  Army,  has  earnestly  invited  the 
people  of  the  States  interested  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  said  joint  resolution,  and 
the  proposition  therein  contained  : 

Be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  1st.  That,  in  the  opinion  of 
this  Convention,  the  proposition  contained 
in  the  said  joint  resolution  adopted  by 

Congress  and  approved ,  A.  D.  1862, 

is  entitled,  as  well  from  its  exalted  source 
as  from  its  intrinsic  importance,  to  the  de- 
liberate and  respectful  consideration  of  the 
people  of  Missouri. 

Resolved,  2d.  That  while  a  majority  of 
this  Convention  have  not  felt  authorized 
at  this  time  to  take  action  with  respect  to 
the  grave  and  delicate  questions  of  private 
right  and  public  policy  presented  by  said 
resolution,  yet  this  body  desires  cordially 
to  recognize  as  well  the  generous  spirit 
therein  displayed  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  as  the  eminent  patriot- 
ism and  ability  which  have  distinguished 
the  President  of  the  United  States  in  his 
efforts  to  subdue  this  unholy  rebellion,  and 
to  restore  peace  and  order  to  this  State. 

Which,  on  motion,  was  referred  to  the 
select  committee  of  five  appointed  on  the 
resolution  of  Mr.  Breckinridge. 

The  question  before  the  Convention  be- 
ing on  the  amendment  offered  by  Mr. 
Shackelf ord  of  H.  to  (<  An  ordinance  in  re- 
lation to  voting  in  certain  counties,"  it 
was  rejected  by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes 


and  noes  being  demanded  by  Mr.  Shackel- 
f  ord  of  H.  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Breckinridge,  Bush,  Cayce, 
Donnell,  Hall  of  B.,Howell,  Leeper,  Long, 
Matson,  McClurg,  McCormack,  Meyer,  Orr, 
Ray,  Ritchey,  Ross,  Scott,  Shackelford  of 
H.,  Sheeley,  Smith  of  L.,  Welch— 21. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Birch,  Bogy,  Bridge, 
Brown,  Calhoun,  Collier,  Doniphan,  Doug- 
lass, Dunn,  Eitzen,  Frayser,  Gravelly,  Hen- 
dricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Irwin,  Is- 
bell,  Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Linton, 
Marvin,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Phillips,  Pip- 
kin, Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Sayre,  Shackelford 
of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Stewart, 
Waller,  Wood  son,  Woolfolk,  Vanbuskirk, 
Zimmerman — 40. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  moved  to  amend,  by  way 
of  new  section,  as  follows  : 

"  In  counties  where  there  are  no  County 
Clerks,  any  candidate  may  file  the  oath  re- 
quired by  ordinance  with  the  board  of 
judges  herein  provided  for,  and  said  board 
shall  cast  up  and  certify  the  vote  given  for 
each  candidate  that  complies  with  this  sec- 
tion the  same  as  if  said  oath  had  been  filed 
in  the  time  and  manner  required  by  the  or- 
dinance heretofore  passed.'5 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK  moved  to  amend  the 
amendment  by  adding,  "  and  said  affida- 
vits shall  be  filed  together  with  the  poll 
books  in  the  County  Clerk's  office,"  which 
was  agreed  to. 

And  the  amendment  as  amended  was,  on 
motion,  agreed  to. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  offered  to  amend,  by  way 
of  new  section,  as  follows  : 

"  The  judges  and  clerks  of  election,  un- 
der this  ordinance,  shall  perform  all  the  du- 
ties and  be  subject  to  all  the  penalties  pre- 
scribed by  existing  laws." 

Which,  on  motion,  was  agreed  to,  and  the 
ordinance  as  amended  was  then  adopted. 

The  special  order,  being  «  An  ordinance 
amending  the  third  article  of  the  State 
Constitution"  with  the  amendments  pro- 
posed thereto,  was  then  taken  up,  when  Mr. 
DONIPHAN,  on  leave,  withdrew  his  amend- 
ment. 

The  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  HITCHCOCK 
was  then  agreed  to  by  the  following  vote, 
the  ayes  and  noes  being  demanded  by  Mr. 
McFerran : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Bast,  Bogy, 
Breckinridge,  Bridge,  Bush,  Calhoun,  Cayce, 


41 


Comingo,  Doniphan,  Donnell,  Drake,  Eit- 
zen,  Flood,  Hall  of  B.,  Hitchcock,  Holmes, 
How,  Howell,  Hudgens,  Irwin,  Jackson, 
Linton,  Lon»,  Marvin,  McDowell,  Meyer, 
Phillips,  Pipkin,  Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Kay, 
Ross,  Sayre,  Shackelf ord  of  St.  L.,  Smith  of 
St.  L.,  Stewart,  Waller,  Woodson,  Vanbus- 
kirk,  and  Zimmerman — 42. 

NOES— Messrs.  Birch,  Brown,  Collier, 
Douglass,  Dunn,  Frayser,  Gravelly,  Hen- 
dricks,  Isbell,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Leeper, 
Matson,  McClurg,  McCormack,  McFerran, 
Orr,  Ritchey,  Scott,  Shackelford  of  H., 
Shanklin,  Sheeley,  Smith  of  L.,  Welch, 
and  Woolfolk— 25. 

The  amendment  offered  by  the  committee 
was  agreed  to,  and  the  ordinance  as  amend- 
ed was  then  adopted. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN  moved  to  reconsider  the 
vote  adopting  the  "  Ordinance  amending 
the  third  article  of  the  State  Constitution," 
and  to  lay  the  motion  to  reconsider  on  the 
table  ;  which  motion  was  decided  in  the  af- 
firmative. 

The  "Ordinance  in  relation  to  the  duties 
of  the  Register  of  Lands  and  County  As- 
sessors" was  taken  up. 

Mr.  POMEROY  offered  to  amend  as  follows  : 

Amend  by  striking  out  the  last  paragraph 
in  the  first  section ;  which  amendment  was 
agreed  to. 

The  first  section  of  the  ordinance  as 
amended  was  then  disagreed  to,  and,  on  mo- 
tion of  Mr.  HOWELL,  the  ordinance  was  laid 
on  the  table. 

The  "  Ordinance  for  the  payment  of  Di- 
vision Inspectors  and  for  other  purposes" 
was  then  taken  up  and  considered  by  sec- 
tions. 

Mr.  BIRCH  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment, which  was  agreed  to  : 

Strike  out  all  after  the  word  "  militia," 
in  the  third  line  of  section  first,  and  insert 
the  words  ((  at  the  rate  of  three  dollars  per 
day,  together  with  their  personal  expenses 
during  the  time  they  were  actually  employ- 
ed in  raising  and  mustering  troops  into  the 
service  of  the  State.'5 

Mr.  PHILLIPS  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend  by  adding  after  the  word  "State" 
these  words  :  "  Provided,  that  such  Inspec- 
tors were  not,  at  the  time  of  such  service, 
receiving  pay  otherwise  as  an  officer  of 
the  Militia." 


The  first  section  as  amended  was  then 
agreed  to. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS  moved  the  following  amend- 
ment to  section  2,  which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend  section  2,  in  line  4,  by  inserting 
after  the  word  "  service"  these  words  : 
"  and  such  other  claims  growing  out  of  the 
military  service  of  the  State." 

Mr.  BIRCH  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend  section  2  by  adding  these  words  : 
"  And  the  Commissioners  so  appointed  shall 
also  inquire  into  and  report  upon  all  claims 
for  military  service  purporting  to  have  been 
rendered  before  the  claimants  were  regular- 
ly organized  into  the  service  of  the  State, 
whether  for  want  of  an  Inspector  or  other- 
wise, and  such  sums  as  may  be  found  due 
to  such  claimants  according  to  the  very  right 
of  the  case  shall  be  so  certified  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  if  approved  by  him  shall  be  paid 
by  the  Paymaster  or  the  Assistant  Paymas- 
ter of  the  Missouri  State  Militia." 

Mr.  HALL  of  B.  offered  the  -following 
amendments,  which  were  agreed  to  : 

Amend  the  second  section  by  striking 
out  the  words  "Quartermaster  General," 
and  insert  in  the  second  line  the  word 
"  Governor ;"  and  by  striking  out  the  words 
"to  him"  in  seventh  line,  and  insert  after 
the  word  "payment"  the  words  "and  ap- 
proved by  the  Governor." 

The  second  section  as  amended  was  then 
agreed  to. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment, which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend  third  section  by  striking  out  all 
after  the  word  "  distribution"  occurring  in 
sixth  line. 

The  third  section  as  amended  was  then 
agreed  to. 

Mr.  HALL  of  B.  moved  to  amend  by  add- 
ing a  new  section,  as  follows  : 

"  SEC.  4.  All  payments  made  under  this 
ordinance  shall  be  made  in  defence  war- 
rants." 

Which  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  offered  the  following 
amendment,  which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend,  by  way  of  new  section,  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  SEC.  5.  This  ordinance  shall  be  in  force 


42 


from  and  after  its  passage,  and  may  be  re- 
pealed at  any  time  by  the  General  Assembly 
of  this  State." 

The  ordinance  as  amended  was  then 
adopted. 

Mr.  HALL  of  B.  offered  the  following  res- 
olutions : 

Resolved.,  That  the  existence  of  this  Con- 
vention shall  terminate  on  the  1st  day  of 
March,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three, 
and  in  the  mean  time  shall  be  subject  to  be 
called  together  by  the  Governor  if  in  his 
opinion  the  public  exigencies  require  its 
assemblage,  but  not  otherwise. 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  will  ad- 
journ its  present  session  at  Jefferson  City 
on  to-morrow  at  11  o'clock. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE  offered  the  following  as 
a  substitute  for  Mr.  Hall's  resolutions  ; 

Resolved,  That  when  this  Convention  ad- 
journs its  present  session,  it  will  adjourn 
until  the  fourth  day  of  July,  A.  D.  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-three,  on  which  day  it 
shall  stand  finally  adjourned  without  assem- 
bling; subject,  however,  to  the  call  of  the 
Governor,  who  shall  have  power  to  convene 
the  body  on  that  day,  or  at  such  time  prior 
thereto,  and  at  such  place,  as  in  his  judg- 
ment the  public  exigencies  may  require. 

Mr.  ORE  moved  to  lay  the  substitute  on 
the  table,  which  was  decided  in  the  nega- 
tive. 

The  substitute  offered  by  Mr.  BRECKIN- 
RIDGE was  then  adopted. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS  introduced  an  ordinance 
entitled  "  An  ordinance  supplementary  to 
an  ordinance  entitled  £An  ordinance  de- 
fining the  qualifications  of  voters  and  civil 
officers  in  this  State  ; ' "  which  was,  on  mo- 
tion, rejected  by  the  Convention. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BROWN, 

Resolved,  That  the  Chaplain  of  this  Con- 
vention be  allowed  the  same  per  diem  pay 
as  members  of  this  Convention. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE, 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Ac- 
counts be  instructed  to  allow  to  L.  L.  Wai- 
bridge  mileage  and  the  pay  which  was  by 
the  original  contract  agreed  to  be  allowed 
to  both  of  the  Reporters,  and  that  said  claim 
be  paid  in  the  same  manner  as  the  pay  of  the 
officers  and  members  of  this  Convention. 


Mr.  HITCHCOCK  offered  the  following  re- 
solutions : 

Resolved,  1st.  That  15,000  copies  of  the 
Ordinances  adopted  by  this  Convention 
be  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  and  that  when 
printed  they  be  delivered  to  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  distribution  as  follows  :  Ten 
copies  to  each  member  of  this  Convention, 
and  the  remainder  to  the  Clerks  of  the 
County  Courts,  or  other  equivalent  officer, 
of  the  several  counties  in  this  State,  in  the 
same  proportion  as  the  Session  Acts  are 
now  required  to  be  distributed  to  said 
counties,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such 
Clerks  to  distribute  the  copies  so  received 
by  them  among  the  voters  of  their  respec- 
tive counties. 

2d.  That  the  Revenue  Law,  approved 
March  27,  1861,  together  with  all  Acts 
amendatory  or  supplementary  thereto,  be 
printed  with  and  attached  to  said  Ordi- 
nances. 

3d.  That  the  Secretary  of  this  Conven- 
tion be  and  he  is  hereby  directed  to  append 
to  the  Journals  to  be  printed  therewith,  all 
Ordinances  and  all  Resolutions  of  a  general 
nature  adopted  by  this  Convention. 

4th.  That  the  Committee  appointed  at  the 
Session  of  this  Convention  in  October,  1861, 
to  contract  for  printing  the  Proceedings 
thereof,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  revived, 
and  authorized  to  contract  for  the  printing 
authorized  by  the  foregoing  resolutions, 
and  also  for  the  printing  of  five  thousanu 
copies  of  the  Proceedings  and  Debates  of 
this  Convention  at  its  present  Session; 
provided,  that  the  rates  to  be  paid  therefor 
shall  not  exceed  the  rates  heretofore  paid 
for  printing  the  Proceedings  of  this  body  : 
and  said  Committee  shall  procure  all  the 
!  printing  authorized  by  these  resolutions  to 
be  properly  done  and  distributed  under 
such  contracts,  and  shall  audit  the  account 
therefor,  which  account,  when  audited  and 
approved  by  a  majority  of  such  Committee, 
shall  be  paid  for  as  other  allowances  of  this 
Convention. 

5th.  That  the  copies  of  the  Proceedings 

and  Debates  of  the  present  Session  above 

|  authorized  to  be  printed  shall  be  forwarded 

j  by  the  persons  employed  to  print  the  same, 

in  the  same  manner  as  provided  by  resolu- 


43 


tion  of  this  body,  adopted  on  the  22d  day  of 
March,  1801,  in  respect  to  the  Proceedings 
and  Debates  of  the  first  Session,  except  that 
for  the  members  of  the  late  General  As- 
sembly therein  mentioned,  the  members  of 
the  next  General  Assembly  shall  be  substi- 
tuted. 

The  1st  resolution  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  SHEELEY  moved  to  amend  by  striking 
out  the  2d  resolution;  which  amendment 
was  agreed  to. 

The  3d  resolution  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment, which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend  by  adding  to  the  4th  resolution 
as  follows : 

"That  said  Committee  be  instructed  to 
contract  with  George  Knapp  &  Co.  for  the 
printing  herein  provided  for.'5 

The  4th  resolution  as  amended  was  then 
agreed  to,  and  the  5th  resolution  was 
agreed  to. 

Mr.  IRWIN  introduced  an  ordinance  en- 
titled "An  ordinance  relating  to  County 
Assessors  and  other  officers,"  which  was 
adopted  by  the  Convention. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE  called  up  an  ordinance 
entitled  "  An  ordinance  in  relation  to  As- 
sessors and  Collectors,"  which  was  under 
consideration  this  morning. 

The  substitute  offered  by  Mr.  Comingo 
was  disagreed  to,  and  the  amendment  of 
Mr.  Sheeley  was  rejected. 

Mr.  BUSH  moved  to  amend  by  striking  out 
of  section  1st  the  words  "who  shall  be 
elected  in  August  next,  or  such  as  may  be," 
and  also  the  words  "  in  case  of  a  failure  to 
elect ;"  and  to  add  to  the  end  of  the  sec- 
tion the  following  words,  "  and  the  asses- 
sors shall  be  also  required  to  make  remarks 
on  their  returns  in  all  cases  which  seem  to 
demand  relief ;"  which  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS  moved  to  amend  section 
1st  by  striking  out  all  after  the  word  "law," 
in  line  third,  to  the  word  "  uncollected" 
inclusive,  in  line  fourth ;  which  amend- 
ment was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK  offered  the  following 
amendment,  which  was  rejected  :  Amend 
section  1st  by  adding  after  the  word  "law," 
in  the  seventh  line,  as  follows  :  "  for  the 
years  1861  and  1862;"  also,  strike  out,  in 


said  line,  "  on  the  1st  day  of  February, 
1861 ;"  and  insert  after  the  "  1st  day  of 
February,  1862,"  in  the  eighth  line,  as  fol- 
lows, "  and  not  acquired  by  purchase  since 
the  first  day  of  February,  1861." 

The  question  being  on  agreeing  to  the  1st 
section  as  amended,  it  was  decided  in  the 
affirmative  by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes 
and  noes  being  demanded  by  Mr.  ORR  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Birch,  Bogy,  Breck- 
inridge,  Bridge,  Bush,  Douglass,  Dunn, 
Eitzen,  Frayser,  Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Hen- 
dricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How,  Irwin,  Is- 
bell,  Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Leeper, 
Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McCor- 
mack,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Meyer,  Phil- 
lips, Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Rowland,  Scott, 
Shackelford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of 
St.  L.,  Stewart,  Welch,  Woolfolk,  and  Van- 
buskirk— 42. 

NOES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Brown,  Cal- 
houn,  Cayce>  Donnell,  Drake,  Flood,  How- 
ell,  Hudgens,  Matson,  Orr,  Pipkin,  Ritchey, 
Sayre,  Shackelford  of  H.,  Smith  of  L.,  Wal- 
ler, Woodson,  and  Zimmerman — 20. 

The  second,  third  and  fourth  sections 
were  then  read  and  severally  agreed  to. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BRIDGE,  the  fifth  sec- 
tion was  amended  by  striking  out  the  words 
[from]  "notwithstanding"  to  "next,"  in 
the  thirteenth  line,  and  the  section  as  amen- 
ded was  then  agreed  to. 

The  sixth,  seventh,  eighth,  tenth  and 
eleventh  sections  were  then  severally  read 
by  the  Secretary  and  agreed  to  by  the  Con- 
vention. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  offered  the  following 
amendment  by  way  of  new  section,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  SEC.  — .  This  ordinance  shall  be  in  force 
from  and  after  its  passage,  and  may  be  re- 
pealed at  any  time  by  the  General  Assembly 
of  this  State." 

Which  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  IRWIN  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment, which  was  agreed  to. 

Amend  by  adding  the  following  addition- 
al sections  : 

"  SEC.  — .  Where  any  collector  may  have 
received  and  receipted  for  the  tax  books 
for  the  taxes  due  for  1861,  and  shall 
have  collected  a  portion  thereof  prior  to 
the  time  of  his  failure  to  take  the  oath 
heretofore  prescribed  by  this  Convention 
and  his  consequent  removal  from  office, 


44 


such  collectors  shall  make  settlement  with 
the  County  Court,  who  shall  allow  to  such 
collector  on  such  settlement  the  amount  of 
the  taxes  remaining  uncollected.  The 
amount  of  taxes  collected  shall  be  paid  over 
to  his  successor  in  office,  taking  duplicate 
receipts  therefor,  one  of  which  shall  be 
transmitted  to  the  Auditor  of  Public  Ac- 
counts, and  the  Auditor  shall  charge  such 
successor  with  the  amount  received  by  him 
from  the  former  collector.  County  Courts 
are  hereby  authorized  to  make  such  settle- 
ment in  the  same  manner  as  if  made  at  the 
time  at  which  such  settlement  is  required 
to  be  made  by  existing  laws. 

"  SEC.  — .  The  present  collectors,  or  the 
collectors  hereafter  to  be  elected  or  ap- 
pointed, shall  proceed  to  the  collection  of 
the  taxes  thus  remaining  uncollected  in  the 
manner  required  by  law,  and  he  shall  have 
the  same  power  to  enforce  such  collections 
as  he  may  have  for  the  taxes  of  1863  now 
provided  by  law  and  the  terms  of  this  ordi- 
nance." 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE  offered  the  following 
amendment,  which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend  by  adding,  as  a  new  section,  as 
follows  : 

"  SEC.  — .  The  Governor  is  hereby  author- 


ized, if  in  his  judgment  the  additional  la- 
bor required  by  this  ordinance  to  be  per- 
formed by  the  Register  of  Lands  makes  it 
necessary,  to  appoint  an  additional  clerk 
for  that  office,  to  continue  in  office  during 
his  pleasure,  and  to  be  paid  for  the  time  so 
employed  at  the  rate  of  six  hundred  dollars 
per  annum.'5 

The  ordinance  as  amended  was  then  adop- 
ted by  the  Convention.  , 

On  motion  of  Mr.  HOWELL,  the  vote  dis- 
agreeing to  the  "  Ordinance  in  regard  to 
the  duties  of  the  Register  of  Lands  and 
County  Assessors"  was  reconsidered. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  IRWIN,  the  vote  on 
agreeing  to  the  "  Ordinance  relating  to 
County  Assessors  and  other  officers"  was 
reconsidered;  when  Mr.  Irwin  offered  the 
following  amendment  to  said  ordinance, 
which  was  agreed  to  : 

Amend  by  inserting  after  the  word  "elect- 
ed," in  the  eighth  line,  the  words  "  or  ap- 
pointed." 

The  said  ordinance  as  amended  was  then 
adopted  by  the  Convention. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ALLEN,  the  Convention 
adjourned  until  to-morrow  morning  at  8 
o'clock. 


TWELFTH   DAT. 


SATURDAY  MORNING,  June  14,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment, and  was  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev. 
Mr.  ALLEN. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  DONIPHAN,  the  reading 
of  the  Journal  of  proceedings  of  yesterday 
was  dispensed  with. 

Mr.  POMEROY,  from  the  select  committee 
to  whom  was  referred  a  memorial  and  cer- 
tain resolutions,  presented  the  following  re- 
port, which  was  agreed  to  : 

"  The  committee  to  whom  was  referred 
the  resolutions  in  relation  to  the  improper 
destruction  and  seizure  and  removal  of 
property  of  citizens  of  the  State  of  Missouri 


by  certain  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army 
of  the  United  States,  and  by  persons  en- 
gaged in  waging  war  against  the  United 
States  contrary  to  the  laws  of  war,  recom- 
mend the  adoption  of  the  resolutions  here- 
with reported.  POMEROY,  CTi'n." 

Resolved,  1.  That  our  Senators  and  Rep- 
resentatives in  Congress  be  requested  to 
secure  the  passage  of  a  law  by  Congress 
providing  for  the  adjudication  by  Commis- 
sioners and  the  payment  by  the  United 
States  of  all  claims  of  citizens  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  that  may  be  found  to  be  just, 
arising  out  of  the  improper  destruction  and 
seizure  and  removal  of  property  by  certain 


45 


officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army  of  the 
United  States,  and  by  persons  engaged  in 
waging  war  against  the  United  States  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  war. 

Resolved^  2.  That  the  Secretary  of  this 
Convention  forward  a  copy  of  these  Reso- 
lutions to  each  of  our  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives in  Congress. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  L., 

Resolved,  That  during  the  remainder  of 
this  session  no  member  shall  speak  longer 
than  five  minutes  on  any  question. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE,  from  the  select  commit- 
tee to  whom  was  referred  the  Message  of  the 
Governor,  presented  the  following  report : 

"  The  select  committee,  to  which  was  re- 
ferred the  message  of  the    Governor,  ( re- 
commending some  action  in  response  to  the 
proposition  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States     concerning    the    emancipation   of 
slaves,  adopted  at  the  instance  of  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States,'  having  had  the 
same  under  consideration,  and  being  unable 
to  agree,  the  undersigned,  a  majority  there- 
of, beg  leave  to  report  the  accompanying 
resolutions,  and  recommend  their  passage. 
S.   M.  BRECKINRIDGE,  Ch'n. 
SAMPLE  ORR, 
W.  DOUGLASS." 

WHEREAS,  The  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  upon  the  special  recommendation  of 
the  President,  has  at  its  present  session, 
adopted  a  joint  resolution,  in  the  following 
words,  to  wit : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  United  States  ought 
to  co-operate  with  any  State  which  may 
adopt  gradual  abolishment  of  slavery,  giv- 
ing to  such  State  pecuniary  aid,  to  be  used 
by  such  State  in  its  discretion,  to  com- 
pensate for  the  inconveniences,  public  and 
private,  produced  by  such  change  of  sys- 
tem :" 

Be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  1st.  That  in  the  opinion  of  this 
Convention  the  proposition  contained  in 
the  said  joint  resolution  adopted  by  Con- 
gress and  approved  April  10,  A.  D.  1862,  is 
entitled,  as  well  from  its  eminent  source, 
as  from  its  intrinsic  importance,  to  de- 
liberate and  respectful  consideration. 

Resolved,  2d.  That  while  a  majority  of 
this  Convention  have  not  felt  authorized  to 


take  action  with  respect  to  the  grave  and 
delicate  questions  of  private  right  and  pub- 
lic policy  presented  by  said  resolution,  yet 
this  body  desires  to  recognize  the  liberality 
therein  displayed  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  and  to  express  its  pro- 
found appreciation  thereof. 

Resolved,  3d.  That  the  Governor  be,  and 
he  is  hereby  requested,  to  transmit  properly 
authenticated  copies  of  the  foregoing  reso- 
lutionsto  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  the  presiding  officers  of  the  Senate 
and  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Mr.  STEWART  submitted  a  substitute,  which 
was  read ;  after  which  he  withdrew  it. 

Mr.  RAY  moved  to  lay  the  resolutions  and 
report  on  the  table,  which  was  decided  in 
the  negative  by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes 
and  noes  being  demanded  by  him  : 

AYES  —  Messrs.  Bast,  Brown,  Calhoun, 
Donnell,  Drake,  Frayser,  Hudgens,  Marma- 
duke,  Matson,  Pipkin,  Ray,  Sayre,  Shack- 
elford  of  H.,  Sheeley,  and  Zimmerman — 15. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Birch,  Bogy, 
Breckinridge,  Bridge,  Bush,  Cayce,  Collier, 
Comingo,  Doniphan,  Douglass,  Dunn,  Eit- 
zen,  Flood,  Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks,  Hitch- 
cock, Holmes,  How,  Hovvell,  Irwin,  Isbell, 
Jackson,  Jamison,  Johnson,  Kidd,  Leeper, 
Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McCor- 
mack,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Meyer,  Orr, 
Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Ritchey,  Ross, 
Scott,  Shackelford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin, 
Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Wal- 
ler, Welch,  Woodson,  Woolfolk,  and  Van- 
buskirk — 53. 

Mr.  HALL  of  B.  offered  the  following  as  a 
substitute  : 

"  The  Convention  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri, in  response  to  the  message  of  his  ex- 
cellency Governor  Gamble  with  reference  to 
the  message  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and'the  resolution  of  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  upon  the  subject  of 
emancipation,  adopt  the  following  resolu- 
tion : 

"Resolved,  That  while  this  Convention 
recognizes  the  liberality  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  in  the  action  referred 
to,  yet  the  Convention  thinks  it  should  not 
act  upon  the  subject  of  emancipation,  for 
the  following,  among  other  reasons  : 

" ( When  this  Convention  was  chosen,  the 
subject  before  the  public  mind  was  the  re- 
lations between  the  State  and  the  General 


46 


Government.  Acting  upon  this  subject,  the 
Convention  deposed  a  Governor  and  Legis- 
lature because  they  were  trying  to  disturb 
those  relations  ;  militia  ordinances  were 
adopted,  because  a  military  force  was  neces- 
sary to  maintain  those  relations  ;  the  of- 
fices of  all  persons  in  office  who  refused  to 
take  an  oath  of  allegiance  were  vacated,  be- 
cause official  power  in  the  hands  of  disloy- 
al persons  might  be  employed  to  disturb 
such  relations  ;  laws  were  vacated,  because 
they  had  been  passed  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  on  a  collision  with  the  Government ; 
in  fine,  the  action  of  the  Convention  has 
been  mainly  addressed  to  the  one  subject 
which  it  was  elected  to  consider,  and  to 
those  which  naturally  arose  out  of  it. 

(e (  When,  then,  it  is  asked  to  entertain  a 
proposition  which  is  to  effect  a  radical  change 
in  the  social  organization  of  the  State,  it  is 
well  warranted  in  declining  to  act  upon  the 
proposition  upon  the  ground  that  the  peo- 
ple, in  choosing  the  Convention,  never  in- 
tended or  imagined  that  the  body  would  un- 
dertake any  social  revolution  wholly  uncon- 
nected with  the  relations  between  the  State 
and  the  General  Government.' J; 

Mr.  RAY  moved  to  strike  out  of  the  sub- 
stitute the  following  words,  to-wit:  "while 
this  Convention  recognizes  the  liberality  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  in  the 
action  referred  to,  yet ;"  which  motion  was 
disagreed  to  by  the  following  vote,  the  ayes 
and  noes  being  demanded  by  Mr.  Stewart : 

AYES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Birch,  Brown, 
Calhoun,  Donnell,  Drake,  Flood,  Hitchcock, 
Hudgens,Marmaduke,Matson,  Pipkin,  Ray, 
Ross,  Sayre,  Shackelford  of  H.,  Sheeley, 
and  Welch— 19. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckinridge, 
Bridge,  Bush,  Collier,  Comingo,  Doniphan, 
Douglass,  Dunn,  Eitzen,  Frayser,  Gravelly, 
Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks,  Holmes,  How,  How- 
ell,  Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Jamison,  John- 
son, Kidd,  Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin, 
McClurg,  McCormack,  McDowell,  McFer- 
ran,  Meyer,  Orr3  Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Rankin, 
Ritchey,  Scott,  Shackelford  of  St.L.,  Shank- 
lin,  Smith  of  ,L.,  Smith  of  St.  L.,  Stewart, 
Woolfolk,  and  Vanbuskirk — 46. 

Mr.  MARMADUKE  offered  the  following 
amendment,  which  was  rejected  : 

Amend  by  striking  out  all  after  the  word 
"  emancipation"  in  the  resolution. 


The  question  now  being  on  the  substitute 
offered  by  Mr.  Hall  of  B.,  it  was  rejected  by 
the  following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  being 
demanded  by  Mr.  Stewart  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Birch,  Brown, 
Calhoun,  Comingo,  Doniphan,  Donnell, 
Drake,  Dunn,  Flood,  Hall  of  B.,  Howell, 
Hudgens,  Irwin,  Jamison,  Kidd,  Marma- 
duke,  Matson,  McDowell,  Pipkin,  Rankin, 
Ray,  Ritchey,  Ross,  Sayre,  Shackelford  of 
H.,  Sheeley,  Welch,  and  Woodson— 30. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckinridge, 
Bridge,  Bush,  Collier,  Douglass,  Eitzen, 
Gravelly,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes, 
How,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Johnson,  Leeper, 
Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McCor- 
mack, McFerran,  Meyer,  Orr,  Phillips, 
Pomeroy,  Scott,  Shackelford  of  St.  L., 
Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith  of  St.  L.a 
Stewart,  Woolfolk,  and  Vanbuskirk— 35. 

Mr.  BIRCH  offered  the  following  as  a  sub- 
stitute : 

"In  response  to  the  proposition  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  as  offici- 
ally brought  to  the  notice  of  this  Conven- 
tion by  the  Governor's  message  of  yester- 
day, it  is 

"  Resolved,  That  the  lateness  of  the  pe- 
riod to  which  the  consideration  of  the  mo- 
mentous question  therein  alluded  to  has 
been  thus  deferred,  renders  the  proper  dis- 
cussion thereof  impracticable  under  the 
rule  which  has  been  adopted  for  closing  the 
proceedings  of  this  body ;  and  that  for  this 
and  other  reasons  the  consideration  of  the 
proposition  is  at  this  time  respectfully  de- 
clined." 

Mr.  HALL  of  B.  moved  the  previous  ques- 
tion, which  was  sustained. 

The  question  now  being  on  the  substitute 
as  offered  by  Mr.  Birch,  it  was  rejected  by 
the  following  vote,  the  ayes  and  noes  being 
demanded  by  Mr.  Meyer  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Birch,  Brown, 
Calhoun,  Doniphan,Donnell,Drake,  Dunn, 
Flood,  Howell,  Marmaduke,  Matson,  Mc- 
Dowell, Ray,  Ritchey,  Ross,  Sayre,  Shack- 
elford of  H.,  Sheeley,  Welch,  and  Wood- 
son— 22. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckinridge, 
Bridge,  Bush,  Collier,  Douglass,  Eitzen, 
Gravelly,  Hall  of  B.,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock, 
Holmes,  How,  Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Jami- 
son, Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  Mc- 
Clurg, McCormack,  McFerran,  Meyer,  Orr, 
Phillips,  Poineroy,  Rankin,  Scott,  Shackel- 
ford of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith 


4T 


of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Woolfolk,  and  Vanbus- 
kirk— 38. 

The  resolutions  as  reported  by  the  ma- 
jority of  the  committee  were  then  adopted, 
the  ayes  and  noes  being  demanded  by  Mr. 
Isbell. 

AYES  — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckin- 
ridge,  Bridge,  Bush,  Collier,  Douglass, 
Eitzen,  Gravelly,  Hendricks,  Hitchcock, 
Holmes,  How,  Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  John- 
son, Lecper,  Linton,  Long,  Marvin,  Mc- 
Clurg,  McCormack,  McFerran,  Meyer,  Orr, 
Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Rankin,  Scott,  Shackel- 
ford  of  St.  L.,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  L.,  Smith 
of  St.  L.,  Stewart,  Woolfolk,  and  Vanbus- 
kirk— 37. 

NOES— Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Birch,  Brown, 
Calhoun,  Comingo,  Donnell,  Drake,  Dunn, 
Hall  of  B.,  Howell,  Marmaduke,  Mat- 
son,  McDowell,  Ray,  Ritchey,  Ross,  Sayre, 
Shackelford  of  H.,  Sheeley,  Welch,  Wood- 
son,  and  Zimmerman — 23. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ALLEN, 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Ac- 
counts be  instructed  to  allow  to  the  Hon. 
James  H.  Birch,  a  member  of  this  Conven- 
tion, his  per  diem  pay  from  the  first  day 
of  the  present  session. 

Mr.  LEEPER  introduced  the  following 
ordinance : 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  Missouri 
in  Convention  assembled  as  follows  : 
SECTION  1.  That  hereafter  if  any  vacancy 
from  any  cause  shall  occur  among  the  com- 
missioned officers  in  any  company  of  the 
Missouri  State  Militia,  that  such  vacancy 
shall  be  filled  by  the  appointment  of  the 
Executive  of  the  State. 

SEC.  2.  Provided,  however,  that  the 
General  Assembly  may  at  any  time  repeal 
this  ordinance. 

Which  said  ordinance  was,  on  motion  of 
Mr.  BOGY,  laid  on  the  table. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS,  as  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Finance,  submitted  the  follow- 
ing report,  which  was  agreed  to  : 

"The  Committee  on  Finance,  to  whom 
was  referred  the  memorial  of  G.  C.  Swal- 
low, respectfully  report  that  since  the  said 


reference  they  have  received  a  letter  from 
said  Swallow  asking  leave  to  withdraw  his 
said  memorial,  and  the  Committee  therefore 
recommend  that  said  Swallow  be  permitted 
to  withdraw  his  said  memorial,  and  that 
they  be  discharged  from  the  further  con- 
sideration of  the  same." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  HITCHCOCK, 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  has  heard 
with  high  gratification,  since  its  assembling, 
the  tidings  of  the  successes  of  the  Union 
arms  at  Corinth,  Memphis,  and  in  Virginia, 
and  hereby  tenders  its  thanks  and  con- 
gratulations to  the  gallant  men  and  their 
able  and  distinguished  leaders  who  have 
exposed  their  lives  in  defence  of  the  Na- 
tional Government,  and  its  earnest  sym- 
pathy to  the  friends  of  those  who  have 
fallen  gloriously  in  so  just  a  cause. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ORR,  the  "  Ordinance 
in  relation  to  the  duties  of  the  Register  of 
Lands  and  County  Assessors"  was  taken 
up  by  the  Convention. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  the  1st,  2d, 
3d,  4th,  7th  and  8th  sections  were  stricken 
out  of  said  ordinance. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCCORMACK,  the  5th 
section  was  amended  by  adding  the  follow- 
ing words  at  the  conclusion  of  said  section, 
"  to  be  paid  into  the  State  Treasury." 

The  ordinance  as  amended  was  then 
adopted  by  the  Convention. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BOGY, 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Con- 
vention are  due  and  are  tendered  to  the 
officers  of  this  Convention  for  the  dignity, 
courtesy  and  ability  with  which  they  have 
fulfilled  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  the  Con- 
vention adjourned  until  the  fourth  day  of 
July,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three, 
under  the  resolution  adopted  on  yesterday. 

AIKMAN  WELCH, 
Vice-Preset  of  the  Convention. 
Attest :     SAMUEL  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  the  Convention. 


INDEX    TO    JOURNAL. 


AN  ORDINANCE — 

Repeal  of,  concerning  the  election  of  Justi- 
ces in  Gasconade  county. 

Referred 10 

Committee  recommended  its  rejection,  .16 
Defining  the   qualifications  of  voters  and 
civil  officers  in  this  State. 
Introduced  by  Mr.  Scott,  and  referred-  10 
Reported  back,  ordered  to  be  printed, 
and  made  the  special  order  for  4th 

day,at  2P.M.  14 

Considered  by  sections,  and  motions 

made  to  amend 16 

Amendment  adopted,  and  recommitted,  19 
Taken  up,  and  made  the  special  order 

for  2  P.  M.  (6th  day) 21 

Amended  .21-22 

Substitute  offered,  and  adjournment,  22-23 
Substitutes  offered  and  withdrawn -•••  23 

Amended 23 

Further  amendments,  and  final  adop- 
tion    26-29 

'Respecting  compensation  of  discharged  sol- 
diers. 

Referred 10 

Requiring  candidates  for  State  offices  to 
make  affidavit  of  loyalty. 

Referred 11 

Concerning  the  Senate  and  Senatorial  Dis- 
tricts. 

Referred 11 

Reported  back  with  amendments,  and 

adopted 36 

Jn  relation  to  Assessors  and  Collectors. 

Referred 12 

Amended,    and    further    amendments 

proposed 34-35 

Further  action 36-37 

Consideration  resumed 38-39 

Called  up,  amended,  and  adopted  •  -  43-44 
Authorizing  the  Secretary  of  State  to  fur- 
nish the  Clerk  of  Phelps  Circuit  Court 
with  a  set  of  the  (l  Decisions." 

Referred 13 

To  punish  persons  for  disturbing  Courts  of 
Record. 

Referred 14 

3 


I  AN  ORDINANCE — 

Releasing  the  tax-payers  of  Jackson,  Cass 
and  Bates  counties. 

Amended  twice,  and  referred 14 

Continuing  the  present  Provisional  Govern- 
ment in  office. 

Reported  back  from  Committee  on  Elec- 
tions, and  made  the  special  order  for 

4th  day,  at  2  P.  M. 14 

Five  additional  sections  proposed'  .-29-30 

Rejected  31 

Vote  reconsidered,  and  ordinance  adopt- 
ed     32 

Repealing  certain  ordinances  submitting  the 
action  of  the  Convention  to  a  vote  of  the 
People. 

Reported    back    from    Committee    on 
Elections,  and  made  the  special  order 

for  4th  day,  at  2  P.  M. 14 

Galled  up,  and  adjournment 21 

Postponing  the  election  to  be  held  in  Au- 
gust, 1862,  &c. 

Minority  report  of  Committee  on  Elec- 
tions— made  the  special  order  for  4th 

day,  at  2  P.  M. 14 

Providing  for  laying  off  the  State  into  Con- 
gressional Districts. 
Made  the  special  order  for  5th  day  •  •  •  •   15 

Amended  and  adopted 20-21 

Amending  an  ordinance  for  abolishing  cer- 
tain offices,  &c. 

Laid  on  table,  and  ordered  to  be  printed  16 

Adopted 21 

To  enable  citizens  of  this  State  in  the  mili- 
tary service  of  the  United  States,  or  of 
this  State,  to  vote. 

Ordered  to  be  printed 19 

Amendment  proposed  and  rejected ....  31 

Amended,  and  adopted 33-34 

To  provide  for  submitting  to  a  vote  of  the 
People  of  Missouri  certain  amendments 
to  the  Constitution,  and  a  scheme  for  the 
gradual  Emancipation  of  Slaves. 

Laid  on  the  table 19-20 

For  the  appointment  of  a  Commissioner  to 
audit  certain  claims  against  the  State. 
Reported  by  select  committee,  and  laid 
on  table  for  the  present 25 


50 


Ax  ORDINANCE — 

For  payment  of  Division  Inspectors. 

Ordered  to  be  printed 25 

Section  4  proposed,  but  decided  to  be 

out  of  order 31 

Taken  up,  amended,  and  adopted-  •  -41-42 
For  the  distribution  of  laws  therein  named. 
Reported  by  select  committee,  and  laid 

on  table 25 

In  relation  to  the  duties  of  Register  of  Lands 
and  County  Assessors. 

Reported  by  select  committee,  and  or- 
dered to  be  printed 25-26 

Called  up,  but  action  deferred  till  next 

day 31 

Further  action  thereon 41 

Disagreement  reconsidered 44 

Again  taken  up,  amended,  and  adopted,  47 
For  the  appointment  of  artillery  officers,  &c. 
Reported  by  the  Committee  on  Militia, 

amended,  and  adopted 26 

Supplementary  to  the  ordinance  entitled 
"An  ordinance  denning  the  qualifications 
of  voters,"  &c. 

Mr.  Hendricks  gives  notice  of  intro- 
duction    30 

Rejected  —•» 42 

Amending  the  third  article  ©f  the  State  Con- 
stitution. 

Referred  to  select  committee 31 

Reported  back  with  an  amendment, 
which  was  agreed  to;  further  amend- 
ments then  offered,,  and  laid  on  table 

tillSP.M. 36 

Amended  and  adopted 40-41 

Vote  reconsidered 41 

In  relation  to  voting  in  certain  counties. 
Reported  from  Committee  on  Elections, 
new  section  added,  and  made  the  spe- 
cial order  for  next  day 34 

Amended 39 

Further  amended  and  adopted 40 

Appropriating  money  to  pay  the  members, 
officers,  &c. 

Adopted 35 

Appropriating  money  for  the  care  of  the 
sick  and  wounded  soldiers  of  Missouri. 

Adopted 35 

To  repeal  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly, 

entitled  "An  Act  to  separate  the  office  of 

Sheriff  and  Collector  in  the  County  of 

Washington." 

Reported  from  select  committee,  and 

rejected •  •    36 

Relating  to  County  Assessors  and  other  offi- 
cers. Adopted 43 


AN  ORDINANCE — 

Concerning  vacancies  among  commissioned 
officers  in  State  Militia. 
Read,  and  laid  on  table 47 

COMMITTEES,  APPOINTMENT  or — 

On  Governor's  Message 9 

On  petition  asking  the  expulsion  of  Mr. 

Hudgens  18 

To  report  on  the  propriety  of  drafting  an 
ordinance  facilitating  the  assessment  and 

collection  of  revenue 20 

On  memorial  of  Philander  Draper 21 

On  memorial  to  Congress,  for  claims 36 

On  Governor's  special  Message 39 

CREDENTIALS — presented  by  Mr.  J.  H. 
Shanklin 3 

INVITATION  to  visit  Penitentiary 19 

MEMORIALS — 

From  Philander  Draper. 

Referred  to  select  committee 21 

Committee  reported 25 

From  A.  W.  Morrison. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Finance  •  •  •  23 

Report  of  committee 35 

From  Prof.  G.  G.  Swallow. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Finance  •  •  •   25 

Withdrawn 47 

To  Congress  asking  for  the  passage  of  an 
Act  creating  a  Commissioner  for  claims 
on  account  of  property  taken  by  Federal 
army  •  •  • 35-36 

MESSAGE  from  Governor 4-9,  37-38 

MINORITY  REPORT  from  Committee  on 
Elections  and  Elective  Franchise 14 

PETITIONS  FROM  CITIZENS — 

Of  Moniteau  County 9 

Of  4th  Senatorial  District 18 

Of  Callaway  County - 18 

PROCEEDINGS — 
First  Day 
Second  Day 

Third  Day  ••- 

Fourth  Day 

Fifth  Day  •  •  - 

Sixth  Day 

Seventh  Day •••'•• 

Eighth  Day 

Ninth  Day 

Tenth  Day 

Eleventh  Day 

Twelfth  Day  •  • 


3 
9 

12 
15 
17 
19 
23 
25 
30 
32 
35 
44 


PROCLAMATION  of  Governor  for  convening 
the  Convention 3 


51 


REPORTS — 

From  Committee  on  Elections  and  Elective 
Franchise 14, 16,  19,  20 

From  Committee  on  Congressional  Dis- 
tricts    15 

From  Committee  on  Finance,  17,  (three)  35,47 

From  Select  Committee,  declaring  the  scats 
of  certain  members  vacant 17-18 

From  Committee  on  Militia — 

By  Mr.  Stewart 20 

By  Mr.McClurg 20 

From  Select  Committee  on  petition  of  sun- 
dry citizens  of  4th  Conventional  District,  26 

From  Committee  on  Constitution 36 

From  Select  Committee  on  Memorial  to 
Congress  for  claims  for  property  taken 
for  the  use  of  Federal  army 44-45 

From  Select  Committee  on  Governor's  spe- 
cial Message 45 

ROLL-CALL 3,  3-4,  13 

RESOLUTIONS — 

By  Mr.  Rowland,  proposing  Elder  T.  M. 
Allen  as  Chaplain 4 

By  Mr.  Brown,  to  furnish  each  member 
with  a  copy  of  State  census 4 

By  Mr.  Hitchcock,  to  appoint  a  Committee 
on  Governor's  Message 9 

By  Mr.  Stewart,  disfranchising  certain  per- 
sons   9 

By  Mr.  Meyer,  respecting  the  appointment 
of  doorkeeper 10 

By  Mr.  Zimmerman,  instructing  Commit- 
tee on  Elections 12 

By  Mr.  Douglass,  ordering  all  voting  at 
elections  to  be  by  ballot 12 

By  Mr.  Gravelly,  instructing  Committee  on 
Elections  to  inquire  into  the  expediency 
of  allowing  soldiers  to  vote 12 

By  Mr.  Leeper,  adding  Judge  McFerran  to 
Committee  on  Militia 12 

By  Mr.  Smith,  instructing  the  Committee 
on  Elections  to  inquire  into  the  expedi- 
ency of  postponing  the  election  of  Gov- 
ernor, &c. 12 

By  Mr.  Douglass,  adding  Messrs.  Bush  and 
Meyer  to  Committee  on  Finance 12 

By  Mr.  Woolfolk,  respecting  the  death  of 
Col.  Tindall 12 

By  Mr.  Pomeroy,  adding  Mr.  McClurg  to 
Committee  on  Congressional  Districts  •  •  13 

By  Mr.  Allen,  deprecating  the  agitation  of 
the  slavery  question 13 

By  Mr.  Bridge,  expelling  certain  members 
for  disloyalty.  Referred 13 


RESOLUTIONS — 

By  Mr.  Meyer,  to  adopt  an  ordinance  ex- 
patriating certain  citizens,  and  to  define 
conspiracy •  ....  13-14 

By  Mr.  Bush,  reducing  the  number  of  mem- 
bers in  the  House  of  Representatives « • « •  16 

By  Mr.  Scott,  instructing  the  Committee 
on  Finance  to  inquire  into  the  necessity  of 
taking  action  for  passing  tax-books  of '61,  16 

By  Mr.  Howell,  instructing  Committee  on 
Elections  to  report  on  an  ordinance  dis- 
pensing with  the  election,  in  the  year 
1862,  of  certain  officers 19 

By  Mr.  Orr,  authorizing  the  President  to 
appoint  a  special  committee  on  the  pro- 
priety of  adopting  an  ordinance  facilita- 
ting the  collection  of  revenue 20 

By  Mr.  Douglass,  reserving  one  hour  of 
morning  sessions  for  reception  of  reports 
from  committees 25 

By  Mr.  Zimmerman,  respecting  final  ad- 
journment. Laid  on  table 26 

By  Mr.  Allen,  that  the  Convention  adjourn 
the  following  Saturday.  Laid  on  table  •  •  31 

By  Mr.  Dunn,  expressive  of  the  confidence 
of  the  Convention  in  the  Governor,  &c.  •  •  32 

By  Mr.  Breckinridge,  referring  special  mes- 
sage from  Governor  to  special  committee,  39 

By  Mr.  Hitchcock,  in  answer  to  joint  reso- 
lutions of  Congress  on  recommendation 
of  President 40 

By  Mr.  Hall  of  B.,  relative  to  final  adjourn- 
ment, &c. 42 

By  Mr.  Breckinridge,  substitute  for  the 
preceding  resolution • 42 

By  Mr.  Brown,  allowing  the  Chaplain  the 
same  pay  as  members 42 

By  Mr.  Breckinridge,  to  allow  L.  L.  Wai- 
bridge  mileage  and  pay  according  to  con- 
tract   42 

By  Mr.  Hitchcock,  authorizing  the  printing 
and  distribution  of  the  Ordinances,  Pro- 
ceedings, Debates,  &c.,  of  the  present 
Session .  42-43 

By  Mr.  Smith  of  St.  L.,  limiting  the  speech 
of  members  •  •  • 45 

By  Mr.  Hall  of  B.,  being  a  substitute  for 
resolutions  recommended  by  select  com- 
mittee on  Governor's  special  message,  45-46 

By  Mr.  Birch,  another  substitute  for  pre- 
ceding resolutions 46 

By  Mr.  Allen,  allowing  Mr.  Birch  to  draw 
pay  from  1st  day  of  Session 47 

By  Mr.  Hitchcock,  expressing  the  senti- 
ments of  the  Convention  respecting  the 
successes  of  Federal  arms,  &c. 47 


INDEX    TO    APPENDIX. 


An  Ordinance  providing  for  certain  amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution 3 

An  Ordinance  concerning  the  repeal  and 
abrogation  of  certain  Laws,  and  for  other 
purposes  4 

An  Ordinance  for  submitting  the  action  of 
this  Convention  to  a  vote  of  the  people  of 
Missouri 4 

An  Ordinance  providing  for  changing  the 
time  for  holding  certain  elections  • 5 

An  Ordinance  providing  for  abolishing  cer- 
tain offices,  reducing  salaries,  and  testing 
the  loyalty  of  civil  officers,  and  offering 
amnesty  to  certain  persons  on  certain  con- 
ditions   • 5 

An  Ordinance  respecting  certain  records 
and  other  property  of  the  State 7 

An  Ordinance  to  provide  for  the  organiza- 
tion and  government  of  the  Missouri 
State  Militia.-.^- 7 

An  Ordinance  to  provide  for  the  defence  of 
the  State 10 

An  Ordinance  to  amend  "An  ordinance 
providing  for  abolishing  certain  offices, 
reducing  salaries,  and  testing  the  loyaltj" 
of  civil  officers  in  this  State" 12 

An  Ordinance  repealing  certain  ordinances 
submitting  the  action  of  the  Convention 
to  a  vote  of  the  people  of  Missouri  and  for 
other  purposes 12 

An  Ordinance  providing  for  laying  off  the 
State  into  Congressional  districts 12 

An  Ordinance  defining  the  qualifications  of 
voters  and  civil  officers  in  this  State  •  •  •  •  13 

An  Ordinance  for  the  appointment  of  artil- 
lery officers,  for  the  greater  efficiency  of 
the  important  arm  of  the  military  ser- 
vice, the  artillery 14 

An  Ordinance  continuing  the  present  Pro- 
visional Government  in  office 14 


An  Ordinance  to  enabk  citizens  of  this  State, 
in  the  military  service  of  the  United 
States  or  the  State  of  Missouri,  to  vote--  15 

An  Ordinance  in  relation  to  Assessors  and 
Collectors,  and  providing  for  the  payment 
of  certain  accounts 16 

An  Ordinance  appropriating  money  •  •  •  • « —    18 

An  Ordinance  appropriating  mosey  for  the 
care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  of 
Missouri  19 

An  Ordinance  relating  to  County  Assessors- 
and  other  officers 19 

An  Ordinance  in  relation  to  voting  in  cer- 
tain counties 19 

An  Ordinance  for  payment  of  Division  In- 
spectors, and  for  other  purposes 20 

An  Ordinance  amending  the  third  article  of 
the  State  Constitution 21 

An  Ordinance  requiring  the  State  Senators 
to  be  divided'  into  classes  by  let 21 

Am-  Ordinance  in  relation  to  the  duties  of  the 
Register  of  Lands  and  County  Assessors  •  21 

Resolutions  in  answer  to  joint  resolution  of 
Congress  respecting  the  gradual  abolish- 
ment of  slavery 22 

Resolutions  authorizing  the  printing  and 
distribution  of  Ordinances,  Journal,  and 
Debates,  of  present  session -  23 

Resolutions  instructing  Senators  and  Rep- 
resentatives in  Congress • 23 

Invitation  to  visit  Penitentiary •  •  •  •  •  24 

Substitute  offered  by  Mr.  Stewart  for  the 
majority  report  on  Governor's  message, 
and  withdrawn  June  14,  1862 24 

Report  of  Committee  on  Finance  on  the 
memorial  of  A.  W.  Morrison 25 

Report  of  the  Auditor  of  Public  Accounts  •  26 

Census  of  Missouri 30 


APPENDIX  TO  JOURNAL. 


ORDINANCES 


PASSED  AT  THE  VARIOUS  SESSIONS 


OF      THE 


MISSOURI  STATE  CONVENTION 


AN  ORDINANCE   PROVIDING  FOR  CERTAIN 
AMENDMENTS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION. 

The  People  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  by  their 

Delegates  in   Convention  assembled,  do 

ordain  as  follows: 

First.  That  the  offices  of  Governor,  Lieu- 
tenant Governor,  Secretary  of  State,  and 
members  of  the  General  Assembly,  be  and 
the  same  are  hereby  vacated. 

Second.  A  Governor,  Lieutenant  Gover- 
nor, and  Secretary  of  State,  shall  be  ap- 
pointed by  this  Convention,  to  discharge 
the  duties  and  exercise  the  powers  which 
pertain  to  their  respective  offices  by  the  ex- 
isting laws  of  the  State,  and  to  continue  in 
office  until  the  first  Monday  of  November, 
1861,  and  until  their  successors  are  elected 
and  qualified,  or  until  the  qualified  voters 
as  hereinafter  provided  disapprove  the  ac- 
tion of  this  Convention. 

Third.  On  the  first  Monday  of  November, 
1SG1,  a  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  and 
Secretary  of  State,  and  members  of  the 
General  Assembly,  shall  be  elected  by  the 
qualified  voters  of  this  State,  to  hold  their 
offices  during  the  term  for  which  the  pres- 
ent incumbents  of  said  offices  were  elected. 

Fourth.  The  elecdons  provided  to  be 
held  by  this  ordinance  on  the  first  Monday 
of  November,  18G1,  shall  be  conducted  in 
the  same  manner  in  all  respects  as  is  now 
provided  by  the  election  laws  of  this  State 


now  in  force,  and  shall  be  held  by  the  qua- 
lified voters  of  the  State,  at  the  same  place 
in  the  election  precincts  now  established 
by  law,  where  the  elections  were  held  for 
delegates  to  this  Convention  on  the  18th  day 
of  February  last;  and  in  case  any  clerk  shall 
fail  to  make  out  the  proper  poll  books,  or 
in  case  any  sheriff  shall  fail  to  deliver  the 
same  to  the  judges  of  election,  then  the 
clerks  of  the  election  may  proceed  to  make 
out  such  poll  books. 

Fifth,  In  case  the  clerks  of  the  several 
courts  whose  duty  it  is  as  now  provided 
by  law  to  certify  and  send  up  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  an  abstract  of  the  votes  given 
at  such  election,  or  in  case  there  should  be 
a  failure  to  receive  such  returns  at  the  seat 
of  government  within  twenty  days  after 
the  first  Monday  of  November,  1861,  the 
Secretary  of  State  shall  dispatch  a  messen- 
ger to  the  county  not  returned,  with  direc- 
tions to  bring  up  the  poll  books  authorized 
to  be  retained  by  the  judges  of  election, 
and  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Governor,  shall  proceed  to  cast  up 
the  votes  given  at  such  election,  and  shall 
thereupon  proceed  to  issue  commissions  to 
the  candidates  having  the  highest  number 
of  votes. 

Sixth.  Be  it  further  ordained,  That  the 
returns  of  the  election  for  Governor,  Lieu- 
tenant Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State, 


provided  for  by  this  ordinance,  shall  be 
made  to  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  Stati 
as  now  provided  by  law;  and  the  Secretar 
of  State,  within  forty  days  after  the  firs 
Monday  of  November,  1861,  or  sooner  if 
the  returns  shall  have  been  made,  shall,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Governor,  proceed  to 
cast  up  the  votes  given  at  said  election  foi 
Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Secre- 
tary of  State ;  and  shall  give  to  the  persons 
having  the  highest  number  of  votes  for  thes 
offices  respectively,  certificates  of  their 
election;  and  the  persons  so  elected  shal 
immediately  thereafter  be  qualified  and 
enter  upon  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of 
their  respective  offices. 
Adopted  July  30,  1861. 


AN  ORDINANCE  CONCERNING  THE  REPEAL 
AND  ABROGATFON  OF  CERTAIN  LAWS,  AND 
FOR  OTHER  PURPOSES. 

WHEREAS,  The  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  did,  in  secret  session, 
contrary  to  the  known  wishes  of  their 
constituents,  in  violation  of  the  Consti- 
tution, and  the  dearest  rights  and  inter- 
ests of  the  people,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
dissolving  the  political  relations  of  this 
State  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  subverting  the  institutions  of 
this  State,  enact  certain  odious  laws 
hereinafter  enumerated ;  Therefore, 

First.  Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled,  That 
an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  provide  for  the 
organization,  government  and  support  of 
the  military  forces  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri," approved  May  14th,  1861 ;  Also,  an 
act  to  create  a  military  fund  for  the  State, 
entitled  "An  act  to  raise  money  to  arm  the 
State,  repel  invasion,  and  protect  the  lives 
and  property  of  the  people  of  Missouri,35 
approved  May  llth,  1861 ;  Also,  an  act  en- 
titled "  An  act  to  authorize  the  appoint- 
ment of  one  Major- General  for  the  Missouri 
Militia,"  approved  May  15th,  1861  j  Also,  a 
"Joint  resolution  to  suspend  the  apportion- 
ment of  the  State  School  money  for  the 
year  1861,"  approved  May  11,  1861 ;  Also, 
an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  perpetuate  friend- 
ly relations  with  the  Indian  tribes,"  ap- 


proved May  llth,  1861 ;  be  and  the  same 
are  hereby  repealed  and  declared  of  no 
effect  or  validity  whatever. 

Second.  That  all  commissions  issued  or 
appointments  made  under  the  authority  of 
the  above  recited  acts,  or  any  of  them,  be 
and  the  same  are  hereby  annulled ;  and  all 
soldiers  and  other  persons  serving  or  em- 
ployed under  any  of  said  acts  are  hereby 
disbanded  and  discharged  from  such  service 
or  employment. 

Third.  And  be  it  further  ordained.  That 
for  the  purpose  of  providing  for  the  organi- 
zation of  the  militia  of  the  State,  the  fol- 
lowing act,  to  wit:  an  act  entitled  "An 
act  to  govern  and  regulate  the  volunteer 
militia  of  the  State,"  approved  December 
31st,  1859,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  re- 
vived and  declared  to  be  in  full  force  and 
effect. 
Adopted  July  30,  1861. 


AN  ORDINANCE  FOR  SUBMITTING  THE  AC- 
TION OF  THIS  CONVENTION  TO  A  VOTE 
OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  MISSOURI. 

Be  it  ordained.  That  at  the  election  pro- 
vided to  be  held  on  the  first  Monday  of  No- 
vember, eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  for 
the  election  of  Governor,  Lieutenant  Gover- 
nor, Secretary  of  State,  and  members  of  the 
General  Assembly,  the  several  clerks  of  the 
county  courts,  or,  in  case  said  clerks  shall 
Pail,  then  the  clerks  of  the  election,  in 
making  the  poll-books  for  the  election, 
shall  provide  two  columns,  one  headed 
vFor  the  action  of  the  Convention,"  and 
;he  other  "  Against  the  action  of  the  Con- 
rention";  and  if  a  majority  of  the  legal 
votes  given  upon  the  action  of  the  Conven- 
ion  be  for  the  same,  then  the  officers  elect- 
sd  shall  hold  their  offices  as  provided  by 
he  ordinance  for  their  election ;  but  if  a 
majority  of  the  votes  cast  as  aforesaid  be 
against  the  action  of  the  Convention,  then 
aid  election  shall  be  null  and  void,  and  the 
>ersons  so  chosen  shall  not  enter  upon  the 
lischarge  of  the  duties  of  their  offices,  the 
)fficers  chosen  by  this  Convention  shall  go 
>ut  of  office,  and  the  ordinance  of  this  Con- 
ention  providing  for  the  abrogation  of 
ertain  acts  of  the  Legislature  shall  there- 


after  be  of  no  force  or  effect  whatever.  The 
returns  of  the  votes  so  cast  on  the  action  of 
the  Convention  shall  be  made  to  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  State  in  the  same  manner 
as  is  provided  by  ordinance  of  this  Conven- 
tion in  regard  to  the  offices  of  Governor, 
Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Secretary  of 
State,  and  the  votes  shall  be  cast  up  by  the 
same  officer  ;  and  when  the  result  thereof 
shall  be  ascertained,  the  Governor  appgint- 
ed  by  this  Convention  shall,  by  public  pro- 
clamation, announce  the  same,  which  pro- 
clamation shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  Sec- 
retary of  State. 

Adopted  July  30,  1861. 


AN  ORDINANCE  PROVIDING  FOR  CHANGING 
THE  TIME  OF  HOLDING  CERTAIN  ELEC- 
TIONS. 

WHEREAS,  this  Convention  did,  during  its 
sessions  at  Jefferson  City,  on  the  30th 
day  of  July,  A.  D.  1861,  adopt  "An  ordi- 
nance providing  for  the  election  of  certain 
State  officers,"  and  also  "  An  ordinance 
providing  for  submitting  its  action  to  the 
people  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  and 
appointing  a  time  therefor"  ; 

AND  WHEREAS,  it  is  manifest  that,  by  reason 
of  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  State, 
it  will  be  impossible,  at  the  time  so 
appointed,  to  elicit  a  fair  expression  of 
the  popular  will :  Therefore, 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled,  as  follows, 
to  wit : 

First.  That  so  much  of  an  ordinance  en- 
titled "An  ordinance  providing  for  certain 
amendments  to  the  Constitution,  (adopted 
on  the  30th  day  of  July,  A.  D.  1861,)  as 
provides  for  the  election  of  a  Governor, 
Lieutenant  Governor,  Secretary  of  State, 
and  members  of  the  General  Assembly,  on 
the  first  Monday  of  November,  A.  D.  1861," 
and  so  much  of  an  ordinance  entitled  "An 
ordinance  for  submitting  the  action  of  this 
Convention  to  a  vote  of  the  people  of  Mis- 
souri" (adopted  on  the  same  day)  as  pro- 
vides for  submitting  the  action  of  this 
Convention  to  a  vote  of  the  people  on  the 
first  Monday  of  November,  A.  D.  1861,  be 


and  the  same  are  hereby  so  modified,  that 
said  elections  shall  not  be  held  on  the  day 
therein  named,  but  instead  thereof  shall  be 
held  on  the  first  Monday  of  August,  A.  D. 
1862. 

Second.  Said  elections,  and  all  other 
elections  held  previous  thereto,  shall  in  all 
other  respects  be  held,  and  the  returns 
thereof  made,  as  provided  in  the  ordinances 
heretofore  adopted  by  this  Convention. 

Third.  The  Governor,  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor, and  Secretary  of  State,  heretofore 
appointed  by  this  Convention,  shall  dis- 
charge the  duties  and  exercise  the  powers 
which  pertain  to  their  respective  offices, 
and  continue  in  office  until  the  first  Monday 
of  August,  A.  D.  1862,  and  until  their  suc- 
cessors are  duly  elected  and  qualified,  or 
until  the  qualified  voters  of  the  State  shall 
disapprove  the  action  of  this  Convention. 

Adopted  October  12, 1861. 


AN  ORDINANCE  PROVIDING  FOR  ABOLISH- 
ING CERTAIN  OFFICES,  REDUCING  SALA- 
RIES, AND  TESTING  THE  LOYALTY  OF 
CIVIL  OFFICERS,  AND  OFFERING  AMNESTY 
TO  CERTAIN  PERSONS  ON  CERTAIN  CONDI- 
TIONS. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled,  as  follows  : 

First.  That  the  Board  of  Public  Works 
be  and  is  hereby  abolished,  and  the  offices 
and  pay  of  the  members  of  said  Board  shall 
cease  and  determine  from  and  after  the 
passage  of  this  ordinance. 

Second.  That  the  office  of  State  Superin- 
tendent of  Common  Schools  be  and  is 
hereby  abolished,  and  the  pay  of  said  officer 
shall  cease  and  determine  from  and  after 
the  passage  of  this  ordinance,  and  the  duties 
pertaining  to  said  office  shall  be  discharged 
by  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Third.  The  offices  of  County  School  Com- 
missioner be  and  is  hereby  abolished  in  all 
the  counties  of  this  State,  St.  Louis  county 
excepted,  and  the  pay  of  said  officers  shall 
cease  and  determine  from  and  after  the 
passage  of  this  ordinance  j  and  the  Clerks 
of  the  respective  County  Courts  shall  dis- 
charge all  the  duties  of  Common  School 


Commissioner  in  their  respective  counties, 
except  visiting  and  lecturing  in  the  schools, 
and  that  the  fees  of  said  Clerks  respectively, 
for  services  herein  contemplated,  shall  in 
no  case  exceed  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars  per 
annum. 

Fourth.  That  the  offices  of  State  Geolo- 
.gist  and  Assistant  State  Geologist  be  and 
are  hereby  abolished,  and  the  pay  of  said 
officers  shall  cease  and  determine  from  and 
after  the  passage  of  this  ordinance. 

Fifth.  That  the  salaries  of  all  civil  officers 
in  this  State,  so  far  as  the  same  are  paid 
out  of  the  State  Treasury,  or  made  a  burden 
on  the  County  Treasuries  by  State  legisla- 
tion, be  and  are  hereby  reduced  twenty  per 
cent,  during  the  year  ending  30th  Septem- 
ber, 1862;  and  said  per  centage  shall  be 
deducted  from  the  amount  of  said  salaries, 
and  withheld  from  said  officers  from  and 
after  the  passage  of  this  ordinance,  until 
the  said  thirtieth  day  of  September,  A,  D. 
1862. 

Sixth.  That  each  civil  officer  in  this  State 
shall,  within  sixty  days  after  the  passage 
of  this  ordinance,  take  and  subscribe  an 
oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  this  State  ;  that  he  will 
not  take  up  arms  against  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  nor  the  Provisional 
Government  of  this  State,  nor  give  aid  or 
comfort  to  the  enemies  of  either  during  the 
present  civil  war ;  that  said  oath,  duly 
subscribed  and  sworn  to,  shall,  within  the 
sixty  days  aforesaid,  be  filed  by  county 
officers  in  the  Clerk's  office  of  their  respec- 
tive counties ;  and  all  other  officers  shall, 
within  the  time  aforesaid,  file  said  oath, 
sworn  to  and  subscribed  as  aforesaid,  in  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  And  the 
offices  of  all  persons  failing  to  file  said  oath, 
as  herein  provided,  are  hereby  declared 
vacant ;  and  the  Secretary  of  State  and 
respective  County  Clerks  shall,  immediately 
after  the  expiration  of  the  sixty  days  afore- 
said, certify,  under  the  seal  of  their  re- 
spective offices,  any  vacancy  that  may  exist 
under  the  operations  of  this  ordinance,  to 
the  proper  authorities  under  existing  laws, 
and  such  authorities  shall  fill  said  offices  by 
appointment  for  the  residue  of  the  term. 
And  any  civil  officer  who  shall  falsely  take 


said  oath,  or  wilfully  violate  the  same,  shall 
be  deemed  and  adjudged  guilty  of  perjury, 
and  punished  accordingly. 

Seventh.  The  respective  County  Court 
Clerks  in  this  State  shall  take  and  subscribe 
the  oath  provided  in  this  ordinance,  and 
file  the  same  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  within  the  sixty  days  aforesaid  j 
and  if  any  County  Court  Clerk  shall  fail  to 
file  said  oath,  duly  subscribed  and  sworn 
to  as  aforesaid,  his  office  is  hereby  declared 
vacant,  and  such  vacancy  shall  be  filled  by 
the  authorities  under  existing  laws ;  and 
in  such  case,  the  other  county  officers  of 
such  county  shall  comply  with  the  require- 
ments of  this  ordinance  within  twenty  days 
after  said  vacancy  shall  be  filled  under  the 
provisions  of  this  ordinance. 

Eighth.  Any  person  whatsoever  who  may 
take  and  subscribe  the  oath  provided  by 
this  ordinance,  and  file  the  same  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  State,  or  any  County 
Clerk's  office  in  this  State,  within  ten  days 
after  receiving  notice  of  the  passage  of  this 
ordinance,  being  within  sixty  days  of  the 
passage  thereof,  shall  be  exempt  from  arrest 
or  punishment  for  offences  previously  com- 
mitted by  taking  up  arms  against  the 
Provisional  Government  of  this  State,  or 
giving  aid  or  comfort  to  its  enemies  in  the 
present  civil  war,  subject  to  the  penalties 
of  perjury  as  provided  in  this  ordinance  • 
and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  and  respective  County  Clerks  to  make 
out  and  deliver  to  persons  filing  such  oath 
a  certificate  of  the  fact  under  their  respec- 
tive seals  of  office,  which  certificate  shall  be 
prima  facie  evidence  in  all  courts,  and  to 
all  persons,  that  the  person  named  therein 
has  complied  with  and  claims  the  benefit  of 
this  ordinance.  And  the  Governor  of  this 
State  is  hereby  directed  to  furnish  a  copy 
of  this  ordinance  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  immediately,  and  request 
him,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  Missouri, 
by  proclamation,  to  exempt  all  persons 
taking  said  oath  under  this  ordinance  from 
all  penalties  they  may  have  incurred  by 
taking  up  arms  against  the  United  States, 
or  giving  aid  or  comfort  to  its  enemies  in 
the  present  civil  war. 

Adopted  October  16,  1861. 


/ 


AN  ORDINANCE  RESPECTING  CERTAIN  RK- 
COROS  AND  OTHER  PROPERTY  OF  TI1E 
STATE. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled : 
That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Board  of 
Public  Works,  of  the  Commissioner  of 
Common  Schools,  and  of  the  Geologist  and 
A>-istant  Geologist  of  the  State,  to  transfer 
and  deliver  the  records,  papers,  and  other 
property  of  their  respective  offices,  to  the 
Secretary  of  State,  who  shall  preserve  an 
inventory  thereof  in  his  office,  and  grant 
proper  receipts  therefor.  The  County 
School  Commissioners  shall  in  like  manner 
deliver  the  records,  papers,  and  other  pro- 
perty of  their  respective  offices,  to  the  clerks 
of  their  respective  counties,  who  shall  in 
like  manner  issue  to  them  receipts  for  the 
same. 
Adopted  October  16,  1861. 


AN  ORDINANCE  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  THE  OR- 
GANIZATION AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE 
MISSOURI  STATE  MILIIIA. 

Be  it   ordained  by  the  People   of  the  State  of 

Missouri  in  Convention  assembled,  as  follows, 

to  wit : 

First.  All  able-bodied  free  white  male 
inhabitants  of  this  State,  between  the  ages 
of  eighteen  and  forty-five  years,  shall  be 
liable  to  military  duty  under  this  ordinance, 
and  when  enrolled  shall  constitute  and  be 
known  and  designated  as  the  "Missouri 
State  militia." 

Second.  When  the  Missouri  State  militia 
shall  be  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the 
State,  the  officers  and  men  shall  be  subject 
to  the  same  rules  and  regulations,  and 
articles  of  war,  that  govern  the  armies  of 
the  United  States. 

ORGANIZATION. 

Third.  The  commander-in-chief  shall 
have  power  to  call  troops  into  actual  service 
by  volunteer  enlistments,  according  to  such 
regulations  as  he  may  prescribe. 

Fourth.  Troops  shall  be  mustered  into 
service  by  the  Inspector  General  or  his 
assistants,  in  such  manner  as  may  bo  pre- 
scribed by  the  commander-in-chief,  and  on 
entering  the  service  all  officers  and  men 


shall  take  the  following  oath,  to  be  admin- 
istered by  the  inspecting  officer  : 

"You,  each  and  every  one  of  you,  do 
solemnly  swear  that  you  will  honestly  and 
faithfully  serve  the  State  of  Missouri 
against  all  her  enemies,  and  that  you  will 
do  your  utmost  to  sustain  the  Constitution 
and  Laws  of  the  United  States,  and  of  this 
State,  against  all  violence  of  whatsoever 
kind  or  description ;  and  you  do  further 
swear  that  you  will  well  and  truly  execute 
and  obey  the  lawful  orders  of  all  officers 
properly  placed  over  you,  whilst  on  duty, 
so  help  you  God." 

Fifth.  The  State  militia  of  Missouri  shall 
be  organized  by  companies  into  battalions, 
regiments,  and  brigades,  in  the  manner 
prescribed  in  the  rules  and  regulations  for 
the  government  of  the  United  States  army, 
and  when  in  actual  service  of  the  State  shall 
receive  the  same  pay  and  emoluments  as 
the  United  States  army ;  and  any  company, 
battalion,  or  regiment,  mustered  into  the 
service  of  the  State,  may  at  their  option,  at 
any  time,  be  mustered  into  the  service  of 
the  United  States. 

Sixth.  Companies  of  infantry  shall  not 
contain  less  than  sixty-four  (64)  men, 
(including  non-commissioned  officers,)  nor 
more  than  one  hundred. 

Companies  of  cavalry  shall  contain  not 
less  than  fifty  men  (including  non-commis- 
sioned officers),  nor  more  than  eighty. 

Companies  of  artillery  shall  not  contain 
less  than  fifty,  nor  more  than  one  hundred 
men. 

Seventh.  The  commissioned  officers  of  a 
company  of  infantry,  cavalry  or  artillery, 
shall  be  one  captain,  one  first  and  one  second 
lieutenant,  who  shall  be  elected  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  company  after  being  mustered 
into  service ;  and  any  vacancy  in  such 
offices  shall  be  filled  by  election  in  like  man- 
ner. 

Eighth.  Captains  of  companies  shall  ap- 
point the  non-commissioned  officers  of  their 
own  companies. 

REGIMENTS. 

Ninth.  A  regiment  shall  consist  of  not 
less  than  eight,  nor  more  than  ten  com- 
panies ;  the  field  officers  of  which  shall  con- 


8 


gist  of  one  colonel,  one  lieutenant-colone 
and  one  major. 

BRIGADES. 

Tenth.  A  brigade  shall  consist  of  not  less 
than  two  nor  more  than  five  regiments,  to 
be  commanded  by  a  brigadier  general. 

STAFF. 

Eleventh.  The  Governor  shall  nominate 
and  by  and  with  the  advice  of  the  Senate 
appoint,  the  following  chiefs  of  staff  depart- 
ment :  One  adjutant  general,  one  inspector 
general,  one  quartermaster  general,  one 
commissary  general,  one  surgeon  general, 
one  paymaster  general — all  with  the  rank 
of  colonel  of  cavalry — each  of  whom  shall 
perform  the  duties  of  his  office  in  accord- 
ance with  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
United  States  army,  or  such  other  rules  and 
regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the 
commander-in-chief. 

Twelfth.  The  quartermaster  general  and 
the  commissary  general  shall,  on  receivin 
their  appointments,  execute  and  deliver  to 
the  State  their  bonds,  each  in  the  sum  of 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  ($20,000,)  with 
sureties,  to  be  approved  by  the  Governor, 
for  the  faithful  performance  of  their  duties, 
and  the  Governor  shall  require  of  all  dis- 
bursing officers  a  bond  in  such  amounts  and 
with  such  securities  as  he  may  deem  neces- 
sary for  the  faithful  discharge  of  their 
duties. 

Thirteenth.  The  commander-in-chief  may 
also  appoint  and  commission  such  number 
of  aids-de-camp  as  may  be  necessary  for 
the  requirements  of  the  service,  with  the 
rank  of  colonel. 

Fourteenth.  The  commander-in-chief 
shall  also,  without  the  concurrence  of  the 
Senate,  appoint  and  commission  such  other 
staff  officers  as  may  be  necessary  for  the 
requirements  of  the  service,  and  shall  de- 
signate their  rank  in  their  respective  com- 
missions ;  and  such  officers  shall  perform 
such  duties  as  are  prescribed  by  the  rules 
and  regulations  of  the  army  of  the  United 
States,  or  such  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the 
commander-in-chief. 

OFFICERS. 

Fifteenth.  The  Governor  shall  nominate, 
and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 


the  Senate  appoint,  one  major  general,  and 
the  necessary  number  of  brigadier  generals, 
colonels,  lieutenant-colonels,  and  majors  of 
the  line. 

Sixteenth.  Whenever,  during  the  recess 
of  the  Senate,  it  shall  be  necessary  to  ap- 
point to  any  military  office  of  the  line  above 
the  rank  of  captain,  the  Governor  may  ap- 
point to  such  office,  subject  to  the  confir- 
mation of  the  Senate  at  their  next  session 
thereafter. 

Seventeenth.  The  major  general  com- 
manding may  nominate  to  the  Governor  for 
commission  one  assistant  adjutant  general, 
two  aids-de-camp  with  the  rank  of  lieuten- 
ant colonel ;  and  the  commander-in-chief 
may  detail  for  duty  on  the  staff  of  the  major 
general  commanding  such  other  staff  officers 
as  the  necessities  of  the  service  may  re- 
quire. 

Eighteenth.  Brigadier  generals,  when  in 
actual  command,  may  nominate  to  the  Gov^ 
ernor  for  commission,  one  acting  assistant 
adjutant  general,  one  aid-de-camp  with  the 
rank  of  major;  and  the  commander-in-chief 
may  detail  such  other  staff  officers  for  duty 
with  the  brigade  as  the  necessities  of  the 
service  may  require. 

Nineteenth.  Colonels  of  regiments,  when 
in  actual  command,  shall  nominate  to  the 
Govern  or  for  commission,  one  adjutant  with 
the  rank  of  captain ;  and  the  cornmander- 
in-chief  may  detail  such  other  staff  officers 
for  regimental  duty  as  the  service  requires. 
The  colonel  of  each  regiment  shall  select 
from  his  command  well  instructed  and  good 
soldiers  to  fill  the  posts  of  sergeant  major, 
quartermaster  sergeant,  commissary  ser- 
eant  and  color  sergeants,  who  will  consti- 
tute the  non-commissioned  staff  of  the  regi- 
ment, and  be  appointed  by  warrant  given 
under  the  hand  of  the  colonel. 

Twentieth.  Persons  holding  civil  offices 
under  this  State,  or  civil  military  offices 
under  the  United  States,  may  hold  offices 
under  this  ordinance ;  and  no  civil  office 
under  this  State  shall  be  vacated  by  the 
acceptance  of  a  military  office  under  the 
Jnited  States. 

UNIFORM. 

Twenty-Jirst.    The     commander-in-chief 


shall  prescribe  the  uniform  to  be  worn  by 
the  Missouri  militia. 

Twenty-second.  All  officers,  when  on 
duty,  shall  wear  the  uniform  of  their  rank. 

COURTS   MARTIAL. 

Twenty-third.  Courts  martial  shall  be 
constituted,  and  shall  proceed  in  all  cases 
in  the  same  manner,  as  is  provided  by  law 
or  regulation  for  the  army  of  the  United 
States. 

Twenty -fourth.  All  contractors  for  sup- 
plies for  the  State  militia  shall  be  subject 
to  trial  by  court  martial  for  any  fraud  prac- 
tised in  respect  to  such  supplies,  and  shall, 
on  conviction  thereof,  be  punished  with 
death  or  other  punishment,  at  discretion 
of  the  court. 

Twenty-fifth.  Any  officer  of  the  State 
militia  who  shall  be  convicted  by  a  court- 
martial  of  wilfully  defrauding  the  State  in 
any  matter  of  which  he  has  official  charge, 
or  of  conniving  at  any  fraud  practised  upon 
the  State  by  others,  shall  suffer  death  or 
such  other  punishment  as  the  court  may 
inflict. 

Twenty-sixth.  The  commander-in-chief 
shall  have  power  to  prescribe  such  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  government  of  the 
Missouri  State  militia  as  he  may  deem  ne- 
cessary. 

Twenty-seventh.  He  may  vacate  the  com- 
mission of  any  officer  whom  he  may  judge 
unfit  for  the  service,  and  he  shall  have 
power  to  appoint  military  boards  to  report 
upon  the  qualifications  of  any  officer  com- 
missioned or  to  be  commissioned. 

Twenty-eighth.  The  articles  of  war  shall 
be  published  with  this  ordinance,  with  the 
verbal  changes  necessary  to  conform  them 
to  forces  organized  and  serving  under  the 
authority  of  the  State. 

Twenty-ninth.  Headquarters  of  the  Mis- 
souri State  militia  shall  be  in  St.  Louis 
until  removed  by  the  commander-in-chief. 

Thirtieth.  No  period  of  residence  is  re- 
quired to  admit  persons  to  service  in  the 
Missouri  State  militia. 

Thirty-first.  All  bodies  of  troops  hereto- 
fore organized  and  mustered  into  the  ser- 
vice of  the  State  under  the  provisions  of  an 
ordinance  entitled  "An  ordinance  con- 


cerning the  repeal  and  abrogation  of  cer- 
tain laws,  and  for  other  purposes,"  here- 
tofore adopted  by  this  Convention,  shall  be 
continued  in  the  service  as  (if)  organized 
under  this  act.  Provided,  however,  that 
the  Governor  may  remove  any  officer  now 
acting  in  the  militia,  in  accordance  with 
the  provisions  of  the  twenty-seventh  sec- 
tion of  this  act;  and  may,  at  any  time, 
vacate  the  commissions  of  such  officers  as 
are  not  authorized  by  this  ordinance  :  And 
provided  also,  that  all  commissions  now 
issued  to  third  lieutenants  of  companies 
under  the  said  recited  act,  are  hereby  va- 
cated ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief to  authorize  some  mem- 
ber of  the  staff  department,  or  some  other 
agent  whom  he  may  appoint  for  that  pur- 
pose, to  proceed  to  such  place  in  the  State 
as  may  be  necessary,  and  examine  into  the 
expenses  incurred  in  the  preliminary  as- 
sembling and  organization  of  companies, 
the  procurement  of  arms,  the  furnishing  of 
supplies,  and  other  necessary  expenses  in- 
curred in  and  about  the  organization  of 
troops  under  the  Governor's  proclamation 
of  the  24th  of  August  last,  and  said  agent 
or  officer  shall  adjust  such  claims  as  mav 
be  prescribed  to  him,  allowing  such  as  may 
be  deemed  just,  and  rejecting  those  found 
to  be  unjust.  He  shall  report  his  proceed- 
ing to  the  Governor,  who,  if  he  approve  the 
same,  shall  so  certify  to  the  proper  officer, 
who  shall  cause  the  claims  or  accounts  so 
allowed  to  be  paid  ;  but  such  preliminary 
examination  shall  be  unnecessary  in  any 
case  where  the  Governor  shall  have  such 
personal  knowledge  in  regard  to  any  such 
claims  as  to  justify  him  in  certifying  it  to 
the  proper  officer  as  hereinbefore  provided. 

Thirty-second.  So  much  of  the  "Act  to 
govern  and  regulate  the  volunteer  militia 
of  the  State,"  approved,  as  aforesaid,  by 
this  Convention,  as  conflicts  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  ordinance  is  hereby  repeal- 
ed ;  but  all  legal  acts  done,  and  proceed- 
ings properly  had  for  the  organization  and 
support  of  the  militia  under  and  by  virtue 
of  said  act,  shall  be  valid  and  binding  as  if 
authorized  by  this  ordinance. 

Thirty-third.  This  ordinance  may  be  al- 
tered, modified  or  repealed  by  the  General 


10 


Assembly  of  this  State,  in  the  same  manner 
and  with  like  effect  as  the  ordinary  legis- 
lation of  the  State  may  be  altered,  amend- 
ed or  repealed. 
Adopted  October  17, 1861. 


AN  ORDINANCE  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  THE   DE- 
FENCE OF  THE  STATE. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri, by  their  Delegates  in  Convention  assem- 
bed,  as  follows  : 

That  in  order  to  facilitate  the  prompt 
and  regular  acknowledgment  of  such  in- 
debtedness as  may  accrue  under  the  provi- 
sions of  the  ordinance  "  to  provide  for  the 
organization  and  government  of  the  Mis- 
souri State  Militia,"  in  cases  where  no 
money  may  be  at  the  time  available  for 
the  payment  thereof,  the  Auditor  of  Public 
Accounts  shall  cause  to  be  prepared  war- 
rants in  the  form  hereafter  prescribed,  with 
such  devices  as  he  may  think  proper — such 
warrants  to  be  of  the  denominations  of  five, 
ten,  twenty,  fifty,  one  hundred,  and  one 
thousand  dollars,  making  the  amount  in 
dollars  of  each  denomination  equal,  and 
the  whole  amount  to  be  outstanding  at  any 
time  not  to  exceed  one  million  dollars, 
which  warrants  shall  be  signed  by  the  Au- 
ditor, and  countersigned  by  the  Secretary 
of  State,  and  shall  be  registered  in  the  of- 
fice of  the  Auditor  and  Secretary  of  State, 
and  shall  be  at  all  times  redeemable  at  the 
treasury,  out  of  any  money  in  the  treasury 
not  otherwise  appropriated. 

The  following  shall  be  the  form  of  said 
warrants  before  being  filled  up  : 

"  The  State  of  Missouri  promises  to  pay 

to ,  or  to  his  assignee, dollars, 

and  this  warrant  shall  be  receivable  in  tax- 
es due  the  State,  and  the  bank  stock  own- 
ed by  the  State  is  pledged  for  its  redemp- 
tion, if  it  shall  not  be  otherwise  redeemed 
or  paid  in  for  taxes  before  the  thirty-first 
day  of  December,  1862. 

,  Auditor. 

(Countersigned,) 


Secretary  of  State." 


The  warrants  shall  be  delivered  to  such 
persons  as  the  State  may  be  indebted 
whether  for  services,  subsistence,  forage 


clothing,  transportation,  or  other  necessa- 
•ies  furnished  according  to  law  to  the  troops 
n  the  service  of  the  State,  and  shall  pass 
>y  special  assignment  alone ;  and  in  order 
hat  such  acknowledgments  may  be  made, 
he  Auditor  shall  issue  to  any  disbursing  of- 
icer  of  the  State  Militia,  upon  the  order  of 
;he  Governor,  such  amounts  as  may  be  re- 
quired for  the  public  service,  the  warrants 
so  issued  having  the  blank  for  the  name  of 
;he  payee  unfilled,  and  to  be  filled  by  the 
disbursing  officer  with  the  name  of  the  per- 
son to  whom  the  State  is  indebted,  and  to 
whom  the  warrant  shall  be  issued.  The  of- 
icer  receiving  such  warrants  from  the  Au- 
ditor shall  give  his  duplicate  receipts  there- 
for, one  of  which  shall  be  filed  in  the  office 
of  the  Auditor,  and  the  other  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  State;  and  each  dis- 
bursing officer  shall  be  charged  by  the  Au- 
ditor with  the  amount  of  warrants  so  issu- 
d  to  him,  and  shall  settle  with  the  Auditor 
therefor,  by  producing  legal  and  valid 
vouchers  for  the  amount  paid  out  by  him, 
and  return  the  residue  to  the  Auditor  ;  such 
settlement  to  be  made  at  the  end  of  each 
quarter  of  a  year  from  the  first  day  of  Jan- 
uary, in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-two.  The  disbursing  officer  so  deliv- 
ering a  warrant  to  a  creditor  of  the  State, 
shall  endorse  on  the  warrant  so  delivered 
the  statement  that  he  issued  it,  thus  :  "  This 
warrant  issued  by  me  ;"  and  shall  subscribe 
thereto  his  name  with  his  style  of  office, 
and  said  warrant  shall  be  taken  up  or  re- 
deemed by  the  proper  disbursing  officer  with 
money,  whenever  he  may  be  furnished  with 
it  for  that  purpose. 

The  Treasurer  shall  receive  from  each 
collector  of  taxes,  upon  settlement,  such 
warrants  as  may  have  been  paid  in  to  him 
for  taxes,  and  shall  give  him  credit  there- 
for as  cash ;  and  any  sheriff,  or  other  col- 
lector of  taxes,  who  shall,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, be  concerned  in  the  purchase  of 
such  warrants  at  a  discount  upon  their 
nominal  amount,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  mis- 
demeanor ;  and,  upon  conviction  thereof, 
shall  be  fined  double  the  amount  of  the 
warrant  so  purchased. 

At  the  end  of  each  fiscal  year,  the  Secre- 
tary of  State,  Auditor,  and  Treasurer,  shall 


11 


together  compare  the  warrants  that  may 
have  been  paid  into  the  treasury  for  taxes 
with  the  register,  in  the  offices  of  the  Sec- 
retary and  Auditor,  and  if  it  be  found  that 
such  warrants  are  genuine  and  correspond 
with  the  register,  and  that  there  is  no  rea- 
son to  believe  that  fraud  has  been  practised 
upon  the  State  in  relation  to  such  warrants, 
they  shall  destroy  those  thus  redeemed  ;  but 
if  they  find  that  any  fraud  has  been  prac- 
tised, they  shall  preserve  the  warrants 
which  may  have  been  fradulently  issued, 
altered,  counterfeited,  or  used,  to  be  evi- 
dence in  any  judicial  proceeding. 

Be  it  further  ordained,  That  for  the  pur- 
pose of  arming  and  supporting  the  militia 
of  the  State,  and  with  a  view  to  protect  the 
lives  and  property  of  its  citizens,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State  is  hereby  authorized  and 
empowered  to  issue  bonds  of  the  State  to 
the  amount  of  one  million  of  dollars,  which 
said  bonds  shall  be  dated  on  the  day  of 
their  issue,  and  made  payable  ten  years  af- 
ter the  date  thereof,  bearing  interest  at  the 
rate  of  seven  per  cent,  per  annum,  and  with 
interest  coupons  attached  ;  the  interest  to 
be  paid  semi-annually,  at  the  Bank  of  Com- 
merce, in  the  city  of  New  York,  or  at  such 
other  point  as  the  Governor  may  deem  ex- 
pedient. 

Said  bonds  shall  be  issued  under  the  seal 
of  the  State,  in  sums  of  not  less  than  two 
hundred  nor  more  than  five  thousand  dol- 
lars ;  shall  be  signed  by  the  Governor,  and 
countersigned  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 
The  interest  coupons  shall  be  signed  by  the 
Governor,  and  attested  by  the  Auditor  of 
Public  Accounts,  and  shall  be  made  paya- 
ble on  the  first  day  of  January  and  the  first 
day  of  July  of  each  year.  The  bonds 
aforesaid  shall  be  made  payable  to  the  Au- 
ditor of  Public  Accounts,  and  by  him  num- 
bered and  registered  in  his  office. 

The  Auditor  shall  endorse  said  bonds, 
and  deliver  the  same  to  the  Governor,  who 
is  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  ne- 
gotiate the  same  upon  such  terms  as  he 
may  deem  best  for  the  interests  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  State.  He  may  hypothecate  them, 
or  any  amount  of  them,  to  individuals,  or 
to  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
for  moneys  advanced ;  and  if  the  same  can 


not  be  sold  nor  hypothecated  upon  terms 
satisfactory  to  the  Governor,  he  shall  soli- 
cit the  endorsement  of  said  bonds  by  the 
proper  authorities  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment previous  to  their  negotiation. 

All  bonds  issued  under  the  provisions  of 
this  ordinance  shall  be  denominated  UNION 
DEFENCE  BONDS  OF  MISSOURI  ;  the  faith  and 
credit  of  the  State  are  hereby  pledged  to 
the  payment  of  the  principal  and  interest 
thereof,  and,  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
the  prompt  payment  of  the  interest  thereon, 
it  is  hereby  ordained  that  the  Treasurer  of 
the  State  shall  annually  set  aside  the  sum 
of  seventy  thousand  dollars  out  of  any  mo- 
ney coming  into  the  treasury  on  account  of 
the  revenues  of  the  State. 

In  order  to  secure  the  ultimate  redemp- 
tion of  the  aforesaid  bonds,  it  is  hereby  or- 
dained and  declared  that  the  Clerks  of  the 
County  Courts  of  the  several  counties  of 
the  State,  or  the  clerks  of  the  tribunals 
then  entrusted  with  similar  duties  under 
the  laws  of  the  State  at  the  time,  when  they 
prepare  a  copy  of  the  tax  books  for  the  years 
1870  and  1871,  for  the  use  of  the  collectors 
of  their  respective  counties,  levy,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  tax  which  shall  or  may  then  be 
levied  by  the  laws  of  the  State,  fifteen  cents 
on  the  hundred  dollars  of  taxable  property, 
for  each  of  the  years  aforesaid,  in  their  re- 
spective counties,  which  said  tax  shall  be 
kept  separate  by  the  collectors  and  the  Au- 
ditor and  Treasurer  of  the  State,  under  the 
title  or  head  of  "Union  Defence  Fund.53 
During  the  years  1870  and  1871,  there  shall 
be  levied  and  collected  upon  all  licenses 
granted  a  tax  of  twenty-five  per  cent,  in 
addition  to  the  amounts  prescribed  to  be 
collected  thereon  by  the  legislation  of  the 
State  at  that  time,  which  said  license  tax 
shall  in  like  manner  be  paid  into  the  treas- 
ury to  the  credit  of  said  fund.  And  upon 
the  maturity  of  the  bonds  hereinbefore  pro- 
vided for,  the  Governor  and  Treasurer  of 
the  State  shall  cause  the  same  to  be  re- 
deemed out  of  the  fund  herein  created. 

The  said  tax  shall  be  collected  in  the 
same  manner  as  may  at  the  time  be  provi- 
ded for  the  collection  of  the  revenue  of  the 
State ;  and  the  several  officers  charged 
with  duties  in  respect  to  the  collection  of 


12 


the  general  revenue  shall  have  the  same 
powers  and  privileges  in  respect  to  said 
special  tax,  and  shall  be  liable  to  the  same 
penalties  and  forfeitures  for  failure  to  per- 
form their  respective  duties. 
Adopted  October  18,  1861. 

AN  ORDINANCE  TO  AMEND  "AN  ORDINANCE 
PROVIDING  FOR  ABOLISHING  CERTAIN 
OFFICES,  REDUCING  SALARIES,  AND  TEST- 
ING THE  LOYALTY  OF  CIVIL  OFFICERS  IN 
THIS  STATE." 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled : 
SECTION  1.  That  the  seventh  section  of  an 
ordinance  entitled  "An  Ordinance  provi- 
ding for  abolishing  certain  offices,  reducing 
salaries,  and  testing  the  loyalty  of  civil  of- 
ficers in  this  State,'5  adopted  by  this  Con- 
vention at  its  session  in  St.  Louis,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1861,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  re- 
pealed. 

SEC.  2.  That  all  appointments  to  fill  va- 
cancies created  by  the  provisions  of  the 
sixth  section  of  said  ordinance,  are  hereby 
declared  valid  from  the  time  said  appoint- 
ments were  made,  anything  in  said  seventh 
section  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

Passed  in  Convention  the  7th  day  of 
June,  1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President. 
Attest:  SAMUEL  A.  LOWE, 
Secretary  of  Convention. 

AN  ORDINANCE  REPEALING  CERTAIN  OR- 
DINANCES SUBMITTING  THE  ACTION  OF 
THE  CONVENTION  TO  A  VOTE  OF  THE 
PEOPLE  OF  MISSOURI,  AND  FOR  OTHER 
PURPOSES. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouriin  Convention  assembled  as  fol- 
lows : 

SECTION  1.  That  all  ordinances  and  parts 
of  ordinances  heretofore  passed  by  this  Con- 
vention, submitting  its  action  to  a  vote  of 
the  people  of  the  State,  be  and  the  same 
are  hereby  repealed. 

Passed  in  Convention  the  7th  day  of 
June,  1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President  of  Convention. 
Attest :  SAMUEL  A.  LOWE, 
Secretary  of  the  Convention. 


AN  ORDINANCE  PROVIDING  FOR  LAYING 
OFF  THE  STATE  INTO  CONGRESSIONAL 
DISTRICTS. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 

Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  : 

SECTION  1.  The  State  of  Missouri  is  here- 
by divided  into  nine  Congressional  Dis- 
tricts, the  qualified  voters  of  each  District 
to  elect  one  member  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States. 

SEC.  2.  The  First  District  shall  be  com- 
posed of  the  fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  seventh, 
eighth,  ninth  and  tenth  wards  of  the  city  of 
St.  Louis,  as  now  established,  all  that  part 
of  St.  Louis  township  north  of  the  Man- 
chester road,  and  St.  Ferdinand  township 
and  Central  township,  of  the  county  of  St. 
Louis, 

The  Second  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  first,  second  and  third  wards  of  the  city 
of  St.  Louis,  as  now  established,  all  that 
part  of  St.  Louis  township  south  of  the 
Manchester  road,  and  Carondelet  township, 
Bonhomme  township  and  Meramec  town- 
ship of  the  county  of  St.  Louis;  also,  the 
counties  of  Jefferson,  Franklin,  Gasconade, 
Osage,  Maries,  Crawford,  Phelps,  and  Pu- 
laski. 

The  Third  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Dunklin,  Pemiscot,  New 
Madrid,  Mississippi,  Stoddard,  Butler,  Rip- 
ley,  Scott,  Wayne,  Reynolds,  Shannon, 
Cape  Girardeau,  Bolinger,  Madison,  Iron, 
Dent,  Perry,  Ste.  Genevieve,  St.  Fran9ois, 
Washington,  Carter,  and  Oregon. 

The  Fourth  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Barton,  Jasper,  Newton, 
McDonald,  Barry,  Lawrence,  Dade,  Cedar, 
Polk,  Green,  Christian,  Stone,  Taney,  Web- 
ster, Dallas,  Laclede,  Wright,  Douglass, 
Ozark,  Texas,  and  Howell. 

The  Fifth  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Cass,  Bates,  Vernon,  John- 
son, Henry,  St.  Glair,  Hickory,  Benton, 
Pettis,  Cooper,  Moniteau,  Cole,  Morgan, 
Miller,  and  Camden. 

The  Sixth  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Clinton,  Clay,  Platte,  Jack- 
son, Caldwell,  Ray,  Lafayette,  Carroll,  Sa- 
line, and  Chariton. 

The  Seventh  District  shall  be  composed 
of  the  counties  of  Atchisoa,  Holt,  Noda- 


13 


way,  Andrew,  Buchanan,  DeKalb,  Gentry, 
Daviess,  Harrison,  Livingston,  Grundy, 
Mercer,  Sullivan,  Putnam,  and  Worth. 

The  Eighth  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Linn,  Schuyler,  Scotland, 
Clark,  Adair,  Knox, Lewis,  Marion,  Shelby, 
Mu'-nn,  Randolph,  and  Howard. 

The  Ninth  District  shall  be  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Monroe,  Rails,  Audrain, 
Pike,  Lincoln,  Montgomery,  Callaway, 
Boone,  Warren,  and  St.  Charles. 

Adopted  June  7th,  1862, 

AIKMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President. 

SAMUEL   A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 


AN  ORDINANCE  DEFINING  THE  QUALIFICA- 
TIONS OF  VOTERS  AND  CIVIL  OFFICERS 
IN  THIS  STATE. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as  fol- 
lows : 

SECTION  1.  No  person  shall  vote  at  any 
election  to  be  hereafter  held  in  this  State, 
under  or  in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution 
and  laws  thereof,  whether  State,  county, 
township,  or  municipal,  who  shall  not,  in 
addition  to  possessing  the  qualifications 
already  prescribed  for  electors,  previously 
take  an  oath  in  form  as  follows,  namely : 

"  I, ,  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm,  as 

the  case  may  be)  that  I  will  support,  pro- 
tect and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  Constitution  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  against  all  enemies  and 
opposers,  whether  domestic  or  foreign  5  that 
I  will  bear  true  faith,  loyalty  and  allegiance 
to  the  United  States,  and  will  not,  directly 
or  indirectly,  give  aid  and  comfort,  or  coun- 
tenance, to  the  enemies  or  opposers  there- 
of, or  of  the  Provisional  Government  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  any  ordinance,  law  or 
resolution  of  any  State  Convention  or  Leg- 
islature, or  of  any  order  or  organization, 
secret  or  otherwise,  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding ;  and  that  I  do  this  with  a  full 
and  honest  determination,  pledge  and  pur- 
pose, faithfully  to  keep  and  perform  the 
same,  without  any  mental  reservation  or 
evasion  whatever.  And  I  do  further  sol- 
emnly swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  have  not, 


since  the  17th  day  of  December,  A.  D. 
1861,  wilfully  taken  up  arms,  or  levied  war, 
against  the  United  States,  or  against  the 
Provisional  Government  of  the  State  of 
Missouri :  So  help  me  God." 

SEC.  2.  Before  any  person  shall  be  elect- 
ed or  appointed  to  any  civil  office  within 
this  State,  under  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws  thereof,  whether  State,  county,  town- 
ship, municipal,  or  other  civil  office,  he 
shall  take  and  subscribe  an  oath  in  form  as 
follows :  "  I,  A.  B.,  do,  on  oath,  (or  affir- 
mation) declare  that  I  have  not,  during  the 
present  rebellion,  wilfully  taken  up  arms, 
or  levied  war,  against  the  United  States,  nor 
against  the  Provisional  Government  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  nor  have  wilfully  adhered 
to  the  enemies  of  either,  whether  domestic 
or  foreign,  by  giving  them  aid  and  comfort, 
but  have  always,  in  good  faith,  opposed  the 
same.  And  further,  that  I  will  support, 
protect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  State  of  Missouri, 
against  all  enemies  and  opposers,  whether 
domestic  or  foreign,  any  ordinance,  law  or 
resolution,  of  any  State  Convention  or  Leg- 
islature, or  of  any  order  or  organization, 
secret  or  otherwise,  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing, and  that  I  do  this  with  an  honest 
purpose,  pledge  and  determination  faith- 
fully to  perform  the  same,  without  any  men- 
tal reservation  or  evasion  whatever ;"  which 
oath  shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  by  all  candidates  for  State 
offices,  and  by  candidates  for  all  county 
and  other  offices,  in  the  office  of  the  clerk 
of  the  County  Court,  (or  other  officer  charg- 
ed with  equivalent  duties,)  in  the  counties 
wherein  they  respectively  reside,  at  least 
five  days  before  the  day  of  election ;  and 
no  vote  shall  be  cast  up  for,  or  certificate 
of  election  granted  to,  any  candidate  who 
fails  to  file  such  oath,  as  required  by  this 
ordinance. 

SEC.  3.  Any  person  who  shall  falsely 
take,  or,  having  taken,  shall  thereupon  wil- 
fully violate  any  oath  prescribed  by  this 
ordinance,  shall,  upon  conviction  thereof, 
by  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  be 
adjudged  guilty  of  the  crime  of  perjury, 
and  shall  be  punished  therefor  in  accord- 
ance with  existing  laws.  And  it  shall  be 


14 


the  duty  of  the  Judges  of  all  Courts  having 
criminal  jurisdiction  under  the  laws  of  this 
State,  specially  to  charge  the  Grand  Juries 
in  the  counties  in  which  such  courts  shall 
be  held  respectively,  and  of  all  Grand  Ju- 
ries in  the  performance  of  their  duties  un- 
der the  laws  of  this  State,  specially  to  in- 
quire concerning  the  commission  of  any  act 
of  perjury  mentioned  or  made  punishable 
by  this  or  any  other  ordinance  adopted  by 
this  Convention. 

SEC.  4.  The  courts  of  this  State  shall  re- 
quire all  jurymen  and  attorneys  to  take 

and  subscribe  the  following  oath :  (e  I, , 

do  solemnly  swear,  (or  affirm,  as  the  case 
may  be,)  that  I  will  support,  protect  and  de- 
fend the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri, against  all  enemies  and  opposers, 
whether  domestic  or  foreign;  that  I  will 
bear  true  faith,  loyalty,  and  allegiance  to 
the  United  States,  and  will  not,  directly  or 
indirectly,  adhere  to  the  enemies  or  oppo- 
sers thereof,  or  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment of  the  State  of  Missouri,  by  giving 
them  aid  and  comfort,  any  ordinance,  law, 
or  resolution  of  any  State  Convention  or 
Legislature,  or  of  any  order  or  organiza- 
tion, secret  or  otherwise,  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding  ;  and  that  I  do  this  with  a 
full  and  honest  determination,  pledge  and 
purpose  to  keep  and  perform  the  same,  with- 
out any  mental  reservation  or  evasion  what- 
ever :  So  help  me  God.55  The  same  oath 
shall  also  be  taken  and  subscribed  by  the 
President,  Professors  and  Curators  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  by  all 
Bank  officers,  Common  School  teachers  who 
are  paid  in  whole  or  in  part  out  of  funds 
provided  by  law,  and  Common  School  Trus- 
tees, by  all  officers  of  all  incorporated  com- 
panies of  this  State,  and  by  all  licensed  or 
ordained  preachers  of  the  Gospel  before 
performing  the  ceremony  of  marriage  in 
this  State,  and  filed  in  any  County  Clerk's 
office  in  this  State  ;  and  every  licensed  or 
ordained  preacher  of  the  Gospel  who  shall 
perform  the  ceremony  of  marriage  in  this 
State  before  taking  said  oath,  and  every 
other  person  aforesaid  assuming  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  pertaining  to  his  avoca- 
tion under  the  laws  of  this  State,  without 


complying  with  the  provisions  of  this  sec- 
tion, shall  be  liable  to  prosecution  in  any 
court  of  competent  jurisdiction  in  this  State, 
by  indictment,  and  upon  conviction  shall 
be  punished  for  each  offence  by  a  fine  not 
less  than  ten  nor  more  than  two  hundred 
dollars.  This  section  shall  take  effect  ninety 
days  from  the  passage  of  this  ordinance. 

SEC.  5.  That  judges  and  clerks  of  all 
elections  held  under  the  laws  of  this  State, 
shall,  in  addition  to  taking  the  oath  requir- 
ed by  existing  laws,  take  the  further  oath 
that  they  will  not  record,  nor  permit  to  be 
recorded,  the  name  of  any  voter  who  has 
not  first  taken  the  oath  required  to  be  ta- 
ken by  the  first  section  of  this  ordinance. 

SEC.  6,  The  General  Assembly  of  this 
State  may  at  any  time  repeal  this  ordi- 
nance or  any  part  thereof. 

Adopted  June  10th,  A.  D.  1862. 

AIRMAN  WELCH, 
Vice  President  of  Convention. 

SAMUEL  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 

AN  ORDINANCE  FOR  THE  APPOINTMENT  OF 
ARTILLERY  OFFICERS—FOR  THE  G  BEATER 
EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  IMPORTANT  ARM  OF 
THE  MILITARY  SERVICE,  THE  ARTILLERY. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as  fol- 
lows : 

SECTION  1.  That  the  Governor  is  hereby 
authorized  to  appoint  and  commission  all 
officers  of  artillery  companies  in  the  Mis- 
souri State  Militia. 

SEC.  2.  This  ordinance  may  be  repealed 
at  any  time  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
this  State. 

Passed  in  Convention  this  10th  day  of 
June,  1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President. 
Attest :  SAMUEL  A.  LOWE, 
Secretary  of  the  Convention. 

AN  ORDINANCE  CONTINUING  THE  PRESENT 
PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  OFFICE. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled : 
SECTION  1.  That  the  Governor,  Lieuten- 
ant Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State,  here- 
tofore appointed  by  this  Convention,  shall 


15 


continue  in  office  until  the  first  Monday  in 
August,  A,  D.  1SG4;  and  until  their  suc- 
cessors are  duly  elected  and  qualified,  and 
shall  discharge  the  duties  and  exercise  the 
privileges  which  pertain  to  their  respective 
offices. 

Passed  in  Convention,  June  llth,  A.D. 
1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President  of  Convention. 

SAMUEL  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 

AN    ORDINANCE  TO    ENABLE   CITIZENS   OF 

THIS  MATE,   IN  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OR  THE  STATE  OF 
MISSOURI,  TO  VOTE. 
Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 

Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  asfol- 

lows,  to-wit : 

SECTION  1.  That  the  commanding  officer 
of  any  company  of  Missouri  Volunteers,  or 
Militia,  in  the  service  of  the  United  States 
or  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  any  of  the  mem- 
bers of  which  are  qualified  voters  under  the 
laws  of  this  State,  shall,  on  the  day  of  the 
next  general  election,  and  at  every  subse- 
quent election  held  under  the  laws  of  this 
State  during  the  present  war,  cause  an 
election  to  be  held  by  the  members  of  such 
company  for  officers  to  be  elected  at  such 
election. 

SEC.  2.  The  commanders  of  such  com- 
panies shall  cause  a  sufficient  number  of 
poll  books  to  be  made  out  for  each  company, 
properly  laid  off  into  blanks,  with  the  neces- 
sary heading  and  certificates  attached,  and 
cause  them  to  be  delivered  to  the  judges 
of  election  on  or  before  the  day  of  such 
election. 

SEC.  3.  Three  good,  discreet  and  disin- 
terested persons,  members  of  such  company, 
being  qualified  voters  under  the  laws  of 
this  State,  shall  be  appointed  judges  of 
such  elections  by  such  commanding  officers, 
who  shall  administer  the  following  oath  to 
such  judges  before  they  enter  on  their  du- 
ties :  "  1  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that 
I  will  impartially  discharge  the  duties  of 
judge  of  the  present  election,  according  to 
law  and  the  best  of  my  abilities.  So  help 
me  God." 

SEC.  4.  Said  judges  shall  appoint  two 
clerks,  who,  before  entering  on  the  duties 


of  their  appointment,  shall  take  an  oath  or 
affirmation,  to  be  administered  by  one  of 
the  persons  so  appointed  as  judges  of  the 
election,  that  they  will  faithfully  record  the 
names  of  all  the  voters,  and  distinctly  carry 
out,  in  lines  and  columns,  the  name  of  the 
person  for  whom  each  voter  votes. 

SEC.  5.  At  the  close  of  each  election  the 
judges  shall  certify,  under  their  hands,  the 
number  of  votes  given  for  each  candidate, 
which  shall  be  attested  by  their  clerks,  and 
transmit  the  same,  together  with  one  of  the 
poll  books,  by  one  of  their  clerks,  or  by 
mail,  to  the  Clerk  of  the  County  Court  in 
which  the  voters  are  entitled  to  vote,  with- 
out delay. 

SEC.  6.  Poll  books  shall  be  opened  for 
each  county  from  which  there  are  members 
in  such  company  entitled  to  vote,  and  at 
such  election  only  such  persons  shall  be 
allowed  to  vote  as  could  vote  under  existing 
laws  if  in  their  proper  precincts,  which  vote 
shall  be  taken  and  sent  to  the  proper 
county,  as  provided  in  this  ordinance. 

SEC.  7.  When  more  than  one  company 
votes  at  the  same  post  or  station,  or  belong- 
ing to  the  same  battalion,  regiment,  or 
division  of  the  army,  the  judges  of  said 
elections  may  cause  one  messenger  to  carry 
the  poll  books  to  the  different  counties. 

SEC.  8.  Any  one  of  the  judges  of  election, 
under  this  ordinance,  is  authorized  to  ad- 
minister oaths  to  test  the  qualifications  of 
voters,  and  to  prevent  frauds. 

SEC.  9.  Each  Clerk  of  the  County  Court 
shall,  in  not  less  than  fifteen  nor  more  than 
twenty  days  after  the  election,  take  to  his 
assistance  two  Justices  of  the  Peace  of  his 
county,  or  two  Justices  of  the  County 
Court,  and  examine  and  cast  up  the  votes 
given  for  each  candidate,  including  the 
votes  received  by  virtue  of  this  ordinance, 
and  give  to  those  having  the  highest  num- 
ber of  votes  a  certificate  of  election. 

SEC.  10.  The  votes  given  at  such  com- 
pany elections  shall  be  given  viva  voce,  or 
by  tickets  handed  to  the  judges,  and  shall 
in  both  cases  be  cried  in  an  audible  voice 
by  one  of  the  judges  of  the  election,  or  by 
some  person  appointed  by  such  judges  for 
that  purpose,  and  noted  by  the  clerks  in 
the  presence  and  hearing  of  the  voters. 


16 


SEC.  11.  Judges  and  clerks  of  said  com- 
pany elections  failing  or  neglecting  to 
discharge  any  duty  required  by  this  ordi- 
nance, or  the  laws  now  in  force,  shall  be 
subject  to  the  penalties  prescribed  by  law, 
and  may  be  prosecuted  in  the  county  to 
which  such  returns  are  required  to  be 
made. 

SEC.  12.  Every  person,  not  being  a  qual- 
ified voter  according  to  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  State,  who  shall  vote  at 
any  election  under  this  ordinance,  or  any 
person  who  shall,  at  the  same  election,  vote 
more  than  once,  either  at  the  same  or  differ- 
ent places  of  voting,  shall,  upon  conviction, 
be  adjudged  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and 
be  punished  by  fine  not  exceeding  fifty 
dollars,  nor  less  than  twenty  dollars,  or  by 
imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not  ex- 
ceeding three  months,  and  shall  be  liable 
to  indictment  and  conviction  in  any  county 
to  which  such  poll  books,  or  any  of  them, 
shall  be  returned. 

SEC.  13.  All  persons  voting  under  this 
ordinance  shall  be  required  to  take  the 
oath  prescribed  by  the  ordinance  of  this 
Convention,  testing  the  loyalty  of  the 
voter. 

SEC.  14.  The  election  returns  of  votes 
cast  at  the  different  precincts  in  the  coun- 
ties shall  be  made  to  County  Clerks,  in  all 
respects  according  to  the  statute  laws  now 
in  force,  except  as  provided  in  this  ordi- 
nance ;  and  all  acts  required  to  be  done 
under  existing  laws  within  a  given  time 
after  examining  and  casting  up  the  books, 
shall  be  done  within  the  time  required  by 
existing  laws,  after  the  time  fixed  for  ex- 
amining and  casting  up  the  poll  books  under 
the  9th  section  of  this  ordinance. 

SEC.  15.  Any  officer,  or  other  person,  in 
the  service  or  employment  of  the  United 
States  or  the  State  of  Missouri,  being  a 
qualified  voter  under  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  this  State,  may  vote  at  any  election 
held  under  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance, 
subject  to  the  restrictions  and  limitations 
provided  by  this  ordinance. 

SEC.  16.  This  ordinance  shall  be  in  force 
from  and  after  its  passage,  and  is  subject 
to  repeal  at  any  time  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  State. 


Done  in  Convention,  June  12th,  A.  D. 
1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President  of  Convention. 
Attest :  SAMUEL  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 


AN  ORDINANCE  IN  RELATION  TO  ASSESSORS 
AND  COLLECTORS,  AND  PROVIDING  FOR 
THE  PAYMENT  OP  CERTAIN  ACCOUNTS. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  : 
SECTION  1.  That  in  all  counties  in  this 
State  where  the  Assessors  thereof  shall, 
from  any  cause,  have  failed  to  assess  the 
taxable  property  therein  for  the  years  1861 
and  1862,  or  either  of  them,  as  required  by 
law,  the  assessors  hereafter  appointed  shall, 
in  separate  books  to  be  prepared  as  other 
tax  books,  proceed  to  assess  all  property 
made  taxable  by  law,  and  which  was  owned 
by  the  person  to  be  taxed  on  the  first  day 
of  February,  1861,  and  on  the  first  day  of 
February,  1862,  and  return  the  same  to 
their  respective  County  Courts  in  the  same 
manner  and  at  the  same  time,  as  now  re- 
quired by  law  for  the  tax  books  for  the  year 
1863,  and  the  Assessors  shall  be  required 
to  make  remarks  on  their  returns  in  all 
cases  which  seem  to  demand  relief. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  Collectors  of  the  differ- 
ent counties  shall,  upon  receiving  such  tax 
book,  proceed  to  collect  the  same  in  the 
same  time  and  manner  as  required  by  law 
for  the  taxes  of  the  year  1862,  and  they 
shall  possess  the  same  powers  to  enforce 
such  collection,  and  the  [same]  rights  in 
making  out  and  returning  delinquent  land 
lists  for  the  taxes  of  said  year  1861,  as  they 
have  by  law  for  the  taxes  of  the  year  1862, 
except  as  hereinafter  provided,  and  the  Re- 
gister of  lands  shall  receive  such  delinquent 
land  list  if  returned  to  his  office  at  the  time 
required  for  the  delinquent  land  list  of 
1862;  and  the  Auditor  of  Public  Accounts 
shall  allow  to  said  Collectors  the  amount 
of  such  lists,  and  settle  the  same  as  if  they 
had  been  filed  in  proper  time.  The  Col- 
lectors shall  execute  separate  receipts  for 
the  taxes  due  for  the  years  1861  and  1862. 
SEC.  3.  The  Collectors  shall  return  their 
personal  delinquent  lists  for  1861  to  the 


17 


County  Court  at  the  same  time  that  they 
return  such  list  for  the  year  1862,  and  the 
County  Court  shall  immediately  certify  the 
same  to  the  Auditor  of  Public  Accounts, 
who  shall  allow  the  same  to  the  Collectors 
in  the  same  manner  as  if  they  had  been 
returned  in  the  time  required  by  law. 

SEC.  4.  That  in  any  case  where  a  person 
was,  on  the  first  day  of  February,  in  the  year 

1861,  or  the  first  day  of  February,  in  the  year 

1862,  the  owner  of  personal  property  subject 
to  taxation,  and  upon  which  taxes  were  as- 
sessed for  said  years,  or  either  of  them,  or 
which,  by  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance, 
is  liable  hereafter  to  be  assessed,  and  who 
shall  have  removed  such  personal  property 
from   the  county  in  which  such  property 
was  taxable,  the  Assessor  of  such  county 
shall,  where  the  same  has  not  already  been 
done,  and  from  the  best  information  he 
may  be  able  to  obtain,  assess  such  personal 
property,  and  the  State  shall  have  the  same 
lien  upon  the  real  estate  of  such  person  for 
the  taxes  on  such  personal  property  as  it 
now  has  by  law  for  the  taxes  due  upon  such 
real  estate  itself,  and  such  real  estate  shall 
be  liable  to  sale  for  the  taxes  on  such  re- 
moved   personal    property     in    the    same 
manner  as  for  the  taxes  due  on  the  real 
estate  itself;  and  when  any  real  estate  shall 
be  sold  under  the  provisions  of  this  ordi- 
nance, such  lands  shall  only  be  redeemed 
upon  full  payment  of  all  the  taxes  for  which 
the  same  may  have  been  sold :  Provided, 
that  this  section  shall  only  apply  to  the 
taxes  for  the  years  1861  and  1862. 

SEC.  5.  That  the  acts  of  certain  Col- 
lectors in  this  State,  who  have  received  the 
tax  books  for  the  year  1861  at  times  not 
authorized  by  law,  and  who  have  proceeded 
to  the  collection  of  taxes  due  thereon,  are 
hereby  declared  to  be  as  valid,  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes,  as  if  the  same  had  been 
done  within  the  time  and  in  the  manner 
prescribed  by  law,  and  the  said  Collectors 
are  hereby  authorized  to  proceed  to  the 
collection  of  said  taxes  as  if  they  had 
received  and  receipted  for  the  tax  books  at 
the  time  and  manner  required  by  law : 
Provided,  however,  that  no  Collector  shall 
avail  himself  of  the  benefits  of  this  section 
unless  he  shall  pay  into  the  State  Treasury 


the  whole  amount  of  the  revenue  for  said 
year,  except  for  such  as  may  be  returned 
delinquent  on  or  before  the  thirty-first  day 
of  December,  1862.  Said  Collectors  shall 
be  authorized  to  return  the  delinquent  land 
list  for  said  year  on  or  before  the  thirty- 
first  day  of  December,  1862,  and  the 
Auditor  of  Public  Accounts  and  Register  of 
Lands  shall  receive  and  allow  the  same  as 
if  returned  in  proper  time.  The  said  Col- 
lectors are  hereby  authorized  to  proceed  to 
the  collection  of  said  taxes  for  said  year 
1861,  or  they  may  pay  the  amount  collected 
to  their  successors  in  office,  as  now  required 
by  law,  at  the  option  of  such  Collector,  in 
which  latter  event  the  new  Collector  shall 
proceed  thereon  as  provided  by  law. 

SEC.  6.  All  Collectors  are  hereby  author- 
ized and  required  to  receive  in  payment  of 
taxes  due  the  State,  the  Defence  Warrants 
issued  under  authority  of  an  ordinance  of 
this  Convention,  passed  at  its  October  ses- 
sion for  the  year  1861,  entitled  "  An  ordi- 
nance to  provide  for  the  defence  of  the 
State,"  first,  for  all  taxes  for  the  years 
1861,  1862  and  1863,  and  for  all  balances 
due  by  Collectors  on  the  taxes  of  1860;  and 
second,  for  all  taxes  due  on  delinquent 
land  lists  from  the  year  1844,  inclusive,  to 
the  present  time. 

SEC.  7.  There  shall  be  paid  out  of  the 
Defence  Warrants  authorized  by  the  ordi- 
nance of  October  18th,  1861,  all  claims  for 
printing  and  publishing  the  ordinances  of 
the  Convention  in  the  various  newspapers 
which  published  said  ordinances,  and  for 
lithographing,  printing  and  binding  all 
books  necessary  for  the  warrants  and  re- 
quired by  said  ordinance,  together  with  all 
books  necessary  for  their  registration  in 
the  offices  of  the  Auditor  and  Secretary  of 
State;  and  also  there  shall  be  allowed  and 
paid  to  the  Secretary  of  State  and  Au- 
ditor of  Public  Accounts  the  sum  of  one 
cent  for  each  warrant  for  signing  and  num- 
bering the  same,  as  additional  compensa- 
tion for  the  extra  labor  imposed  on  said 
officers  in  getting  up  and  preparing  said 
warrants  for  distribution ;  provided,  that 
the  extra  compensation  hereby  allowed  the 
said  Auditor  and  Secretary  of  State  shall 
not  exceed  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars 


18 


to  each ;  all  of  said  accounts  to  be  examined 
and  approved  by  the  Governor  and  paid  by 
any  officer  of  the  State  having  charge  of  the 
disbursement  and  payment  of  said  war- 
rants. 

SEC.  8.  The  Register  of  Lands  is  hereby 
required  to  receive  and  file  in  his  office  all 
the  delinquent  land  lists  for  the  year  1861, 
returned  by  the  several  Collectors  of  this 
State  after  the  time  required  by  law  ;  and 
also,  receive  and  file  in  his  office  the  delin- 
quent land  lists  of  1860,  for  the  county  of 
St.  Louis,  and  certify  the  same  to  the  Audi- 
tor of  Public  Accounts,  as  required  bylaw, 
and  the  Auditor  of  Public  Accounts  is  re- 
quired to  credit  the  same  to  said  Collectors 
the  same  as  if  they  had  been  returned  in 
accordance  with  the  revenue  laws  now  in 
force. 

SEC.  9.  Nothing  in  this  ordinance  con- 
tained shall  be  construed  to  authorize  the 
several  Collectors  in  this  State  to  withhold 
the  payment  of  any  money  by  them  already 
collected,  but  they  are  required  to  pay  over 
the  same  in  the  time  and  manner  now  pre- 
scribed by  law. 

SEC.  10.  The  several  Collectors  in  this 
State  are  hereby  authorized  and  required 
to  receive  in  payment  of  all  taxes  due  to 
the  State  or  to  any  county  in  the  State,  the 
Treasury  Notes  issued  by  authority  of  the 
United  States,  whenever  the  same  shall  be 
tendered  in  payment  of  such  taxes. 

SEC.  11.  The  several  Collectors  in  this 
State  who  have  received  and  receipted  for 
the  tax  books  of.  1861  within  the  time  and 
within  [in]  the  manner  required  by  law,  but 
who  have  not  completed  their  collections  of 
the  same,  shall  have  the  same  powers  and  be 
entitled  to  the  same  benefits  and  in  other 
respects  subject  to  the  provisions  ordained 
in  section  five  of  this  ordinance. 

SEC.  12.  Where  any  Collector  may  have 
received  and  receipted  for  the  tax  books 
for  the  taxes  due  for  1861,  and  shall 
have  collected  a  portion  thereof  prior  to 
the  time  of  his  failure  to  take  the  oath 
heretofore  prescribed  by  this  Convention 
and  his  consequent  removal  from  office, 
such  Collectors  shall  make  settlement  with 
the  County  Court,  who  shall  allow  to  such 
Collector  on  such  settlement  the  amount  of 


the  taxes  remaining  uncollected.  The 
amount  of  taxes  collected  shall  be  paid  over 
to  his  successor  in  office,  taking  duplicate 
receipts  therefor,  one  of  which  shall  be 
transmitted  to  the  Auditor  of  Public  Ac- 
counts, and  the  Auditor  shall  charge  such 
successor  with  the  amount  received  by  him 
from  the  former  Collector.  County  Courts 
are  hereby  authorized  to  make  such  settle- 
ment in  the  same  manner  as  if  made  at  the 
time  at  which  such  settlement  is  required 
to  be  made  by  existing  laws. 

SEC.  13.  The  present  Collectors,  or  the 
Collectors  to  be  hereafter  elected  or  ap- 
pointed, shall  proceed  to  the  collection  of 
taxes  thus  remaining  uncollected  in  the 
manner  required  by  law,  and  he  shall  have 
the  same  power  to  enforce  such  collections 
as  he  may  have  for  the  taxes  of  1863  now 
provided  by  law  and  the  terms  of  this  ordi- 
nance. 

SEC.  14.  The  Governor  is  hereby  author- 
ized, if  in  his  judgment  the  additional  la- 
bor required  by  this  ordinance  to  be  per- 
formed by  the  Register  of  Lands  make  it 
necessary,  to  appoint  an  additional  Clerk 
for  that  office,  to  continue  in  office  during 
his  pleasure,  and  to  be  paid  for  the  time  so 
employed  at  the  rate  of  six  hundred  dollars 
per  annum. 

SEC.  15.  This  ordinance  shall  be  in  force 
from  and  after  its  passage,  and  may  be  re- 
pealed at  any  time  by  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  State. 

Passed  in  Convention  June  13th,  A.  D. 
1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President  of  Convention. 

SAM'L  A.  LOWE, 
Secretary  of  Convention. 


AN  ORDINANCE  APPROPRIATING  MONEY. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as  fol- 
lowss  to  wit : 

That  the  sum  of  twelve  thousand  dollars 
be  and  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any 
money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  ap- 
propriated for  the  pay  and  mileage  of  mem- 
bers and  officers. of  this  Convention,  and  to 
defray  the  contingent  expenses  thereof. 


19 


Passed  in  Convention,  June  13th,  A.  D 
1862.  AIKMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President  of  Convention. 
SAM'L  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 


AN  ORDINANCE  APPROPRIATING  MONEY 
FOR  THE  CARE  OF  THE  SICK  AND  WOUND- 
ED SOLDIERS  OF  MISSOURI. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  Missouri  in 
Convention  assembled  as  follows  : 

1.  That  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
in  Defence  Warrants,  be  and  the  same 
hereby  appropriated  to  provide  for  the  care 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  of  Mis 
souri,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction 
of  the  Governor  of  the  State. 

Passed  in  Convention,  June  13,  1862. 

AIKMAN  WELCH, 
Vice  President  of  Convention. 
SAM'L  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 

AN  ORDINANCE  RELATING  TO  COUNTY  AS- 
SESSORS AND  OTHER  OFFICERS. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as  fol- 
lows, to  wit : 

SECTION  1.  All  persons  holding  office  in 
this  State,  to  fill  which  an  election  would 
have  been  held,  under  previously  existing 
laws,  on  the  first  Monday  in  August,  1862, 
except  County  Assessors,  shall  Continue  to 
hold  their  offices,  and  perform  the  duties, 
exercise  the  powers,  and  be  subject  to  all 
the  responsibilities  thereof,  until  their  suc- 
cessors are  elected  or  appointed  and  quali- 
fied :  Provided,  that  the  office  of  County 
Assessor  in  each  county  wherein  an  election 
for  such  office  would  have  been  held  under 
previously  existing  laws,  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  August  next,  shall  be  filled  by  ap- 
pointment by  the  County  Court,  within 
such  time,  and  in  such  manner,  after  that ' 
day,  as  now  prescribed  by  law  in,  case  of 
failure  to  elect  County  Assessors ;  and  in 
case  the  County  Court  shall  fail  within 
twenty  days  to  make  such  appointment,  the 
same  shall  be  made  by  the  Governor.  And 
the  Assessors  appointed  as  aforesaid  shall 


continue  in  office  until  the  general  election 
in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
four,  and  until  their  successors  shall  be 
elected  and  qualified. 

Passed  in  Convention  the  13th  of  June, 
1862.  AIKMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President. 
Attest :  SAM'L  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 


AN  ORDINANCE   IN   RELATION   TO  VOTING 
IN  CERTAIN  COUNTIES, 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as  fol- 
lows, to  wit : 

SECTION  1.  In  any  county  where  there  is 
a  County  Court,  or  where  such  Court  fails 
to  appoint  judges  of  election,  and  in  coun- 
ties where  there  is  no  County  Clerk,  or 
such  Clerk  fails  to  cause  poll  books  to  be 
delivered  to  the  judges  of  election  before 
the  day  of  the  election,  any  person  may 
prepare  the  poll  books  for  any  or  all  of  the 
townships  in  such  county,  and  a  majority 
of  the  qualified  voters  present  at  the  time 
and  place  of  opening  the  polls,  which  shall 
be  at  the  same  place,  as  near  as  may  be,  as 
the  elections  were  authorized  to  be  for 
members  of  this  Convention,  shall  choose 
judges  of  the  election  ;  and  in  case  no  offi- 
cer is  present  authorized  to  administer  the 
oath  of  office  to  such  judges,  one  of  the  per- 
sons so  chosen  may  administer  the  oath 
required  by  law  to  such  judges,  one  of 
whom,  after  being  so  sworn,  shall  adminis- 
ter the  oath  to  the  judge  by  whom  he  was 
sworn. 

SEC.  2.  Such  judges  of  election  shall  ap- 
point two  clerks,  and  shall  have  all  the 
powers  and  perform  all  the  duties  of  judges 
of  election  under  existing  laws,  and  shall 
return  the  poll  books  to  the  county  seat 
in  the  time  and  manner  required  by'  the 
next  section. 

SEC.  3.  On  the  first  Saturday  after  the 
election,  one  of  the  judges  of  election  from 
each  township  in  such  county  shall  repair 
to  the  county  seat,  and  organize  a  Board 
composed  of  such  judges,  and  said  Board, 
when  so  organized,  shall  proceed  to  cast  up 
the  votes  given  in  such  election,  certify 


20 


the  same,  and  grant  certificates  of  election, 
and  in  all  respects  shall  have  the  same 
powers  and  perform  the  same  duties  that 
the  County  Clerk,  aird  two  Justices  of  the 
County  Court  or  Justices  of  the  Peace  are 
required  to  perform,  or  that  the  County 
Clerk  is  required  to  perform,  under  exist- 
ing laws  governing  elections. 

SEC.  4.  Such  election  shall  be  as  valid  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  as  though  it  had 
been  done  by  the  ordinary  officers  under 
existing  laws. 

SEC.  5.  Such  judges  of  election  shall  re- 
tain the  poll  books  of  such  election  until 
there  is  a  County  Clerk  qualified  to  act  in 
such  county.  Such  poll  books  shall  be  filed 
in  the  County  Clerk's  office,  and  the  Clerk's 
receipt  taken  for  the  same. 

SEC.  6.  The  Secretary  of  State  shall 
cause  the  Ordinances  passed  at  this  session 
of  the  Convention,  in  relation  to  voters  and 
elections,  to  be  published  in  pamphlet  form 
and  distributed  without  delay  to  the  County 
Clerks  of  the  different  counties,  and  in 
counties  where  there  is  no  Clerk,  to  mem- 
bers of  this  Convention,  or  other  citizens, 
in  such  numbers  as  he  may  deem  suffi- 
cient. 

SEC.  7.  If  in  any  county  no  election  shall 
be  held  for  Sheriff,  Coroner,  County  Court 
Justices,  and  other  township  and  county 
officers,  the  vacancies  so  caused — with  the 
exception  of  members  of  the  General  As- 
sembly— shall  be  filled  by  the  proper  au- 
thorities, under  existing  laws;  but  in  all 
oases  of  failure  by  the  proper  authorities 
to  appoint  persons  to  fill  such  vacancies 
within  twenty  days  after  the  vacancy  oc- 
curs, then  the  Governor  shall  appoint  offi- 
cers to  fill  such  vacancies  as  have  not  been 
filled  by  the  proper  authorities ;  and  all 
officers  appointed  to  fill  vacancies  as  afore- 
said, shall  hold  their  said  offices  for  the 
same  time  as  if  they  had  been  elected  under 
existing  laws. 

SEC.  8.  In  counties  where  there  are  no 
County  Clerks,  any  candidate  may  file  the 
oath  required  by  ordinance  witfy  the  Board 
of  judges  herein  provided  for,  and  said 
Board  shall  cast  up  and  certify  the  vote 
given  for  each  candidate  that  complies  with 
this  section  the  same  as  if  said  oath  had 


been  filed  in  the  time  and  manner  re- 
quired by  the  ordinance  heretofore  passed ; 
and  said  affidavits  shall  be  filed  together 
with  the  poll  books  in  the  County  Clerk's 
office. 

SEC,  9.  Judges  and  clerks  of  election, 
under  this  ordinance,  shall  perform  all  the 
duties  and  be  subject  to  all  the  penalties 
prescribed  by  existing  laws. 

SEC.  10.  This  ordinance  shall  be  in  force 
from  after  its  passage,  and  may  be  repealed 
at  any  time  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
this  State. 

Passed  in  Convention  the  13th  day  of 
June,  1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President  of  Convention. 
Attest :  SAMUEL  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  the  Convention. 


AN  ORDINANCE  FOR  PAYMENT  OF  DIVISION 
INSPECTORS,  AND  FOR  OTHER  PURPOSES. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  Missouri 

in  Convention  assembled  as  follows,  to- 

wit: 

SECTION  1.  That  the  unpaid  Division  In- 
spectors of  the  Missouri  State  Militia,  as 
appointed  by  the  Provisional  Governor,  un- 
der the  act  of  1859,  which  act  was  revised 
by  the  Convention,  shall  be  paid  by  the  As- 
sistant Paymaster  of  the  Missouri  State 
Militia,  at  the  rate  of  three  dollars  per  day, 
together  with  their  personal  expenses  dur- 
ing the  time  they  were  actually  employed 
in  raising  and  mustering  troops  into  the  ser- 
vice of  the  State :  Provided,  that  such  In- 
spectors were  not,  at  the  time  of  such  ser- 
vice, receiving  pay  otherwise  as  an  officer 
of  the  Militia. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  Governor  may  appoint 
as  many  Commissioners  as  he  may  deem 
necessary,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  audit 
and  report  for  payment  to  the  Governor  of 
the  State,  such  claims  for  Commissary  and 
Quartermaster  stores  furnished  to  the  State 
Militia,  after  the  31st  day  of  July,  1861,  and 
before  disbanding  from  the  "six  months' 
service,"  and  such  other  claims  growing  out 
of  the  military  service  of  the  State  as  shall 
be  proven  to  be  honest  and  just.  The  Quar- 
termaster General,  or  any  Assistant  Pay- 
master of  the  Missouri  State  Militia,  shall 


21 


pay  all  such  claims  as  may  be  audited  and 
reported  by  said  Commissioners  for  pay- 
ment, and  approved  by  the  Governor.  And 
the  Commissioners  so  appointed  shall  also 
inquire  into  and  report  upon  all  claims  for 
military  service  purporting  to  have  been 
rendered  before  the  claimants  were  regu- 
larly organized  into  the  service  of  the  State, 
whether  for  want  of  an  Inspector  or  other- 
wise ;  and  such  sums  as  may  be  found  due 
to  such  claimants,  according  to  the  very  right 
of  the  case,  shall  be  so  certified  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, and,  if  approved  by  him,  shall  be 
paid  by  the  Paymaster  or  the  Assistant 
Paymaster  of  the  Missouri  State  Militia. 

SEC.  3.  That  when  soldiers  have  died  in 
the  "  six  months'  service"  Missouri  State 
Militia  having  pay  or  claims  due  them  for 
such  service,  the  administrator  or  legal 
representative  of  said  deceased  soldier  shall 
be  entitled  to  collect  and  receive  the  amount 
due  such  soldier  from  the  officer  charged 
with  the  payment  of  such  claim ;  and  in 
cases  where  the  estate  is  so  small  as  not  to 
authorize  an  administration  under  existing 
laws,  then  the  officer  will  pay  the  amount 
due  such  soldier  to  the  widow  and  heirs  of 
such  soldier  according  to  the  law  of  distri- 
bution. 

SEC.  4.  This  ordinance  shall  be  in  force 
from  and  after  its  passage,  and  may  be  re- 
pealed at  any  time  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  this  State. 

Passed  in  Convention,  June  13th,  A.  D. 
1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

•  Vice  President  of  the  Convention. 
Attest:  SAM'L  A.  LOWE, 
Secretary  of  Convention. 

AN  ORDINANCE  AMENDING  THE  THIRD  AR- 
TICLE OF  THE  STATE  CONSTITUTION. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as 
•    follows : 

SECTION  1.  The  eighth  section  of  the 
third  article  of  the  Constitution  is  hereby 
abolished  and  the  following  adopted  in  lieu 
thereof : 

After  the  first  day  of  July,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-two,  all  general 
elections  shall  commence  [take  place]  on 
the  Tuesday  next  after  the  first  Monday  in 
November,  and  shall  be  held  biennially;  and 


the  electors  in  all  cases,  except  of  [for]  trea- 
son, felony  or  breach  of  the  peace,  shall  be 
privileged  from  arrest  during  their  continu- 
ance at  elections,  and  in  going  to  and  re- 
turning from  the  same. 

Passed  in  Convention,  June  13th,  A.  D. 
1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President  of  Convention. 

SAM'L  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 

AN  ORDINANCE  REQUIRING  THE  STATE 
SENATORS  TO  BE  DIVIDED  INTO  CLASSES 
BY  LOT, 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  as  fol- 
lows : 

SECTION  1.  That  at  the  next  session  of 
the  General  Assembly,  the  Senators  shall  be 
divided  by  lot  into  classes,  as  provided  in 
the  seventh  section  of  the  third  article  of 
the  Constitution,  and  every  election  to  fill 
a  vacancy  in  the  Senate  shall  be  for  the 
residue  of  the  term  only. 

Passed  in  Convention,  June  13th,  A.  D. 
1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President  of  Convention. 
SAMUEL  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 

AN  ORDINANCE  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  DU- 
TIES OF  THE  REGISTER  OF  LANDS  AND 
COUNTY  ASSESSORS. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 

Missouri  in  Convention  assembled  asfol- 

lowS)  to-wit : 

SECTION  1.  When  application  is  made  at 
the  Register's  office  to  pay  taxes  on  lands 
returned  delinquent,  before  the  same  is  cer- 
tified out  for  sale,  the  Register  shall  add  to 
the  State  tax  ten  cents  on  each  tract  to  be 
paid  into  the  State  treasury. 

SEC.  2.  The  Register  of  lands  is  author- 
ized by  this  ordinance  to  appoint  an  addi- 
tional clerk,  who  shall  receive  a  salary  at 
the  rate  .of  eight  hundred  dollars  per  an- 
num for  the  time  necessarily  employed. 

Passed  in  Convention  the  14th  day  of 
June,  1862.  AIRMAN  WELCH, 

Vice  President. 
Attest :  SAMUEL  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 


22 


RESOLUTIONS    IN  ANSWER   TO   JOINT  RESOLUTION   OF    CON- 
GRESS RESPECTING  THE  GRADUAL  ABOLISHMENT 
OF  SLAVERY. 


WHEREAS,  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  upon  the  special  recommendation  of 
the  President,  has,  at  its  present  session, 
adopted  a  joint  resolution  in  the  following 
words,  to-wit : 

"Resolved,  That  the  United  States  ought 
to  co-operate  with  any  State  which  may 
adopt  a  gradual  abolishment  of  slavery, 
giving  to  such  State  aid,  to  be  used  in  its 
discretion,  to  compensate  for  the  inconve- 
nience, public  and  private,  produced  by 
such  change  of  system.'1* 

Be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  1st.  That,  in  the  opinion  of 
this  Convention,  the  proposition  contained 
in  the  said  joint  resolution  adopted  by 

Congress  and  approved ,  A.  D.  1862, 

is  entitled,  as  well  from  its  eminent  source 
as  from  its  intrinsic  importance,  to  delib- 
erate and  respectful  consideration. 

Resolved,  2d.  That  while  a  majority  of 
this  Convention  have  not  felt  authorized 


to  take  action  with  respect  to  the  grave  and 
delicate  questions  of  private  right  and  pub- 
lic policy  presented  by  said  resolution,  yet 
this  body  desires  to  recognize  the  liberality 
therein  displayed  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  and  to  express  its  pro- 
found appreciation  thereof. 

Resolved,  3d.  That  the  Governor  be  and 
he  is  hereby  requested  to  transmit  properly 
authenticated  copies  of  the  foregoing  reso- 
lutions to  the  President  of  the  United  States 
and  to  the  presiding  officers  of  the  Senate 
and  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  above  resolutions  were  adopted  by 
the  Missouri  State  Convention,  on  the  14th 
day  of  June,  1862. 

AIRMAN  WELCH, 
Vice  President  of  Convention. 
Attest : 

SAM'L  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 


OFFICE  OF  SECRETARY  OF  STATE,       ) 
City  of  Jefferson,  Missouri.  > 

I  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  pages  contain  correct  copies  of  the  Ordinances 
and  Resolutions  adopted  by  the  late  Missouri  State  Convention,  at  Jefferson  City, 
which  convened  on  the  first  Monday  of  June,  A.  D.  1862,  as  appears  from  the 
original  rolls  now  on  file  in  this  office. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed  the  seal  of  office. 
Done  at  office,  in  the  City  of  Jefferson,  this  30th  day  of  June,  1862. 

M.  OLIVER, 
SEA1L  ^  Secretary  of  State. 


23 


KESOLUTIONS. 


PRINTING  AND  PUBLISHING. 

Resolved,  That  fifteen  thousand  copies  of 
the  Ordinances  adopted  by  this  Convention 
be  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  and  that  when 
printed  they  be  delivered  to  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  distribution  as  follows  :  Ten 
copies  to  each  member  of  this  Convention, 
and  the  remainder  to  the  Clerks  of  the 
County  Courts,  or  other  equivalent  officer, 
of  the  several  counties  in  this  State,  in  the 
same  proportion  as  the  Session  Acts  are 
now  required  to  be  distributed  to  said 
counties,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such 
Clerks  to  distribute  the  copies  so  received 
by  them  among  the  voters  of  their  respec- 
tive counties. 

2d.  That  the  Secretary  of  this  Conven- 
tion be  and  he  is  hereby  directed  to  append 
to  the  Journals  to  be  printed  therewith,  all 
Ordinances  and  all  Resolutions  of  a  general 
nature  adopted  by  this  Convention. 

3d.  That  the  Committee  appointed  at  the 
Session  of  this  Convention  in  October,  1861, 
to  contract  for  printing  the  Proceedings 
thereof,  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  revived, 
and  authorized  to  contract  for  the  printing 
authorized  by  the  foregoing  resolutions, 
and  also  for  the  printing  of  five  thousand 
copies  of  the  Proceedings  and  Debates  of 
this  Convention  at  its  present  Session; 
provided,  that  the  rate  to  be  paid  therefor 
shall  not  exceed  the  rates  heretofore  paid 
for  printing  the  Proceedings  of  this  body  : 
and  said  Committee  shall  procure  all  the 
printing  authorized  by  these  resolutions  to 
be  properly  done  and  distributed  under 
such  contracts,  and  shall  audit  the  account 
therefor,  which  account,  when  audited  and 
approved  by  a  majority  of  such  Committee, 
shall  be  paid  for  as  other  allowances  of  this 
Convention.  That  said  Committee  be  in- 
structed to  contract  with  George  Knapp  & 
Co.  for  the  printing  herein  provided  for. 


4clh.  That  the  copies  of  the  Proceedings 
and  Debates  of  the  present  Session  above 
authorized  to  be  printed  shall  be  forwarded 
by  the  persons  employed  to  print  the  same, 
in  the  same  manner  as  provided  by  resolu- 
tion of  this  body,  adopted  on  the  22d  day  of 
March,  1861,  in  respect  to  the  Proceedings 
and  Debates  of  the  first  Session,  except  that 
for  the  members  of  the  late  General  As- 
sembly therein  mentioned,  the  members  of 
the  next  General  Assembly  shall  be  substi- 
tuted. 


COMPENSATION  FOR  DAMAGES. 

1.  Resolved,  That  our  Senators  and  Rep~ 
resentatives  in  Congress  be   requested   to 
secure  the  passage  of  a  law  by  Congress 
providing  for  the  adjudication  by  Commis- 
sioners  and   the   payment  by  the  United 
States  of  all  claims  of  citizens  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  that  may  be  found  to  be  just, 
arising  out  of  the  improper  destruction  and 
seizure  and  removal  of  property  by  certain 
officers   and  soldiers  of  the   army  of   the 
United  States,  and  by  persons  engaged  in 
waging  war  against  the  United  States  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  war. 

2.  Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this 
Convention  forward 'a  copy  of  these  Reso- 
lutions to  each  of  our  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives in  Congress. 


A  true  copy  of  the  Resolutions  adopted 
by  the  Missouri  State  Convention,  at  its 
Session  held  in  Jefferson  City,  Mo.,  on  the 
14th  day  of  June,  1862,  as  the  same  appear 
on  the  record  of  proceedings. 

Attest :  SAM'L  A.  LOWE, 

Secretary  of  Convention. 


24 


INVITATION    TO    VISIT    PENITENTIARY. 


JEFFERSON  CITY,  Mo., 

June,  7,  1862. 
Hon.  R.  WILSON,  President 

Missouri  Convention. 
SIR  : — The  undersigned  Warden  and  In- 
spectors of  the  Missouri  Penitentiary  would 
be  pleased  to  receive  a  visit  from  yourself 
and  all  the  other  members  and  officers  of 
the  Convention  to  the  Missouri  Penitentia- 
ry. We  are  desirous  that  your  honorable 
body  would  make  a  formal  inspection  of 
the  prison  and  its  management  by  its  pres- 
ent officers,  as  it  is  and  has  been  our  con- 


stant effort  to  administer  its  affairs  to  the 
best  interest  of  the  State,  and  to  the  well- 
being  and  proper  care  of  the  unfortunate 
men  confined  within  its  walls.  It  is  well 
worthy  of  your  personal  examination  and 
fostering  care  as  the  representatives  of  the 
people  of  Missouri. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servants, 

P.  T.  MILLER,  Warden  Mo.  Pent'y. 

WM.  S.  MOSELEY, 

G.  C.  BINGHAM, 

AIRMAN  WELCH, 


Inspectors  of 
Mo.  Pent'y. 


SUBSTITUTE  OFFERED  BY  MR.  STEWART  FOR  THE  MAJORITY 

Report  on  Governor's  Message,  and  withdrawn  June  14,  1862. 


WHEREAS,  The  rebellion  inaugurated 
professedly  in  behalf  of  the  institution  of 
slavery  has  greatly  diminished  the  number 
and  value  of  slaves  in  Missouri,  and  has 
produced  a  condition  of  things  tending  in- 
evitably to  the  virtual  extinction  of  the 
institution  in  our  State  not  many  years 
hence,  by  putting  an  end  to  the  immigra- 
tion of  slaveholders  with  their  slaves 
within  the  State,  and  by  rapidly  hastening 
their  removal,  previously  commenced,  to  a 
more  southern  and  congenial  clime ;  and 

Whereas,  many  other  interests  of  our 
State  have  by  the  same  general  cause  been 
brought  into  a  languishing  condition,  and 
the  revenue  of  the  State  so  diminished  as 
to  utterly  derange  its  finances,  threatening 
to  engulf  us  in  hopeless  bankruptcy ;  and 

Whereas,  as  a  measure  of  relief  we  must 
depend,  in  a  great  degree,  upon  immigra- 
tion, and  the  introduction  of  capital,  and 
the  various  industrial  enterprises,  that  shall 
develope  the  vast  natural  resources  of  our 
State  ;  and 

Whereas,  our  only  hope  for  future  im- 
migration is  in  the  non-slaveholding  classes 
of  this  and  foreign  countries,  whose  preju- 
dices against  the  institution  of  slavery  will 


tend  in  a  great  measure  to  cause  them  to 
shun  this  State  while  they  have  doubts  of 
its  ultimate  extinction  ;  and 

Whereas,  further,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  has  recommended,  and  Con- 
gress, by  resolution,  has  endorsed  the 
policy  of  aid  by  the  General  Government 
to  such  States  as  shall  adopt  a  system  of 
gradual  emancipation  ;  and 

Whereas,  This  Convention,  regarding 
the  ultimate  and  general  prosperity  of  our 
State  as  more  important  than  any  special 
interest,  and  believing  that  the  only  ques- 
tion which  Providence  has  left  for  our  peo- 
ple to  decide  in  regard  to  slavery,  is  the 
manner  of,  and  terms  upon  which,  its  ex- 
tinction in  Missouri  shall  be  accomplished; 
would  solemnly  commend  to  the  serious 
and  dispassionate  consideration  of  the 
people  the  subject  of  gradual  emancipa- 
tion, in  order  that  a  plan  may  be  adopted 
that  will  accomplish  the  change  already 
inevitable,  with  the  least  possible  inconve- 
nience and  pecuniary  injury  to  those  most 
immediately  interested,  and  that  will  se- 
cure the  aid  proposed  by  the  General  Gov- 
ernment. R.  M.  STEWART. 

June  14,  1862. 


25 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  FINANCE  ON  THE  MEMORIAL  OF 

A.  W.  MORRISON. 


The  Committee  on  Finance,  to  whom  was 
referred  the  memorial  of  A.  "W.  Morrison, 
late  Treasurer  of  this  State,  report  that 
they  have  considered  the  same,  and  as  the 
law  provides  that  the  accounts  of  that  offi- 
cer must  be  examined  by  a  Committee  of 
the  Legislature,  one  member  thereof  from 
the  Senate,  and  two  from  the  House  of 
Representatives  ;  they,  therefore,  deem  it 
inexpedient  for  this  Convention  to  go  into 
the  examination  asked  for,  and  recommend 
that  the  prayer  of  the  memorial  be  not 
granted,  and  that  the  committee  be  dis- 
charged from  the  further  .consideration  of 

the  same. 

W.  DOUGLASS, 

Chairman. 


CITY  OF  JEFFERSON, 

June  9,  1862. 
To  the  Honorable 

the  State  Convention  of  Missouri. 

GENTLEMEN  : 

By  request  of  the  undersigned,  late 
State  Treasurer,  the  Hon.  W.  P.  Hall,  then 
Acting  Governor  of  the  State,  appointed 
Messrs.  M.  Oliver,  P.  T.  Miller,  and  E.  B. 
Cordell,  a  committee  to  investigate  and 
report  to  him  the  condition  of  his  accounts 
as  Treasurer,  which  report  was  made  to 
Governor  Hall  by  said  committee  on  the 
7th  of  February,  1862,  and  a  copy  thereof 
is  hereto  attached. 

The  undersigned  respectfully  requests 
that  the  Hon.  Convention  will  receive  said 
report,  and  take  such  action  thereon  as  may 
relieve  him  and  his  securities  from  any 
future  responsibility  as  State  Treasurer. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

A.  W.  MORRISON. 


CITY  OF  JEFFERSON,  Feb.  7,  1862. 

To  His  Excellency,  W.  P.  HALL, 

Acting  Governor  of  Missouri. 
SIR: 

The  undersigned,  a  committee  appointed 
by  you  to  investigate  the  accounts  of  A.  W. 
Morrison,  Esq.,  late  Treasurer  of  the  State 
of  Missouri,  and  report  to  the  Governor  the 
result  of  their  investigations,  respectfully 
report : 

That  we  find  from  the  books  in  the  Audi- 
tor's Office,  the  Treasurer  is  chargeable,  as 
follows  : 

Balance  due  by  him  as  per 
report  of  the  last  Investi- 
gating Committee  on  the 
1st  October,  1860 $219,062  33 

Less  wolf-scalp  certificates 
burnt  by  said  Committee 
as  per  resolution  of  the 
General  Assembly 2,961  26 

$216,101  07 

Amount  received  from  1st 
October,  1860,  to  December 
15th,  1861 $1,706,118  68 


Total    amount    with     which 

Treasurer  is  chargeable.... $1,922,219  75 

The  Treasurer  is  entitled  to  the  follow- 
ing credits  : 

Warrants  redeemed  ffom  Oct. 
1st,  1860,  to  December  15, 
1861 $1,859,074  27 

Wolf-scalp  certificates  count- 
ed in  Treasury 1,585  50 

Railroad  tax  receipts  counted 

in  Treasury 129  99 

Certificates  of  Deposit  in 'the 
Bank  of  Missouri,  consist- 
ing of  cash  and  coupons 
paid  by  said  Bank 50,432  41 

Cash  counted  in  the  Treasury  99758 

Total  amount  of  credits  to 
which  the  Treasurer  is  en- 
titled  $1,922,219  75 

Respectfully  submitted, 
E.  B.  CORDELL,  ) 
P.  T.  MILLER,    V  Committee. 
M.  OLIVER.    '     S 


26 


REPORT  OF  THE  AUDITOR  OF  PUBLIC  ACCOUNTS. 


AUDITOR'S  OFFICE,  MISSOURI,      ) 
Jefferson  City,  June,  1862.  j 

To  the  President  of  the 

Missouri  State  Convention. 

I  have  deemed  it  important  to  the  fiscal 
affairs  of  our  State,  as  one  of  her  public 
servants,  having  charge  of  her  monetary 
affairs,  to  submit  to  your  Honorable  body, 
some  considerations  and  facts,  which,  if 
adopted,  may  result  in  great  advantage  to 
the  State,  lead  to  an  entire  absorption  of 
the  defence  warrants  issued  by  virtue  of 
the  ordinance  of  18th  October,  1861 ;  save 
the  sale  of  the  bank  stock  pledged  for 
their  redemption,  and  afford  great  relief  to 
our  suffering  tax-payers,  by  extending  their 
reception  for  the  taxes  due  the  State  in 
1863. 

Under  the  ordinance  above  referred  to 
there  has  been  issued  on  the  requisitions 
of  the  Governor,  and  delivered  to  the 
various  Assistant  Paymasters  of  the  Mis- 
souri State  Militia,  and  the  Quartermaster 
General  of  Missouri,  the  sum  of  seven 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars,  up 
to  the  present  date ;  of  this  amount,  the 
largest  sum  has  been  paid  out  to  the  six 
months'  militia,  and  tie  balance  disbursed 
by  the  Quartermaster  General  in  payment 
for  forage,  provisions  and  supplies,  ord- 
nance stores,  etc.,  under  the  ordinance  of 
October  18th,  1861.  These  warrants  have 
gone  into  general  circulation ;  and  in  coun- 
ties where  the  revenue  has  been  collected, 
have  soon  been  returned  to  the  State 
Treasury ;  the  holders  of  these  warrants, 
in  those  counties  who  were  tax-payers  have 
suffered  no  loss,  as  they  readily  answered 
the  wants  of  the  community.  In  many 
instances,  however,  owing  to  the  stringency 
of  the  money  market,  the  unsettled  condi- 
,  tion  of  affairs,  the  gloomy  future  before 
ufe,  many  of  our  soldiery  and  needy  citizens 
have  had  to  suffer  considerable  depreciation 
in  their  value,  in  exchanging  them  for  par 
funds.  This  depreciation  was  caused  from 


the  want  of  a  home  demand  in  non-tax- 
paying  counties,  by  the  Shylocks  and  bro- 
kers, who  saw  opened  up  to  them  a  fine 
field  of  speculation  in  the  disordered 
condition  of  the  financial  affairs  of  our 
State.  I  believe,  however,  if  the  Conven- 
tion would  amend  the  ordinance  of  October 
18th,  1861,  and  make  them  receivable  for 
the  taxes  of  1863 — and  for  all  balances  due 
by  late  collectors  for  the  taxes  of  1860 — the 
value  of  the  warrants  would  be  appreciated 
to  par ;  the  whole  amount  issued  would  be 
retired  and  paid  into  ttie  Treasury ;  the 
State  relieved  from  the  debt  created  ;  the 
civil  Government  carried  on  without  resort 
to  borrowing;  the  people  of  the  State 
greatly  enabled  to  pay  the  revenue  of  1863  ; 
and  the  bank  stock  saved  from  sale  at  its 
present  depreciated  price. 

1st.  Make  them  receivable  from  late  col- 
lectors, who  are  in  default  for  all  balances 
due  the  State,  for  the  taxes  of  1860. 

2d.  Make  them  receivable  for  the  taxes  of 
the  year  1863. 

This  extension  of  time  would  give  three 
years  for  their  redemption,  leaving  other 
means  sufficient  (exclusive  of  defence  war- 
rants) to  defray  the  ordinary  expenses  of 
the  State  Government,  which  will  reach 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars  per  annum, 
exclusive  of  the  deduction  of  the  twenty 
per  cent,  per  annum  for  the  year  1862  for 
the  pay  of  civil  officers. 

The  ordinance  of  the  Convention  of  Octo- 
ber 18th,  1861,  provided  for  the  redemption 
of  these  warrants  by  the  31st  of  December, 
1862;  and  if  not  then  redeemed,  pledged 
the  bank  stock  owned  by  the  State  for  their 
payment.  It  was  contemplated  that,  if  the 
revenues  of  1861  and  1862  would  equal  the 
revenues  of  1859  and  1860,  (about  $880,000 
each  year,)  the  whole  amount  would  be 
received  into  the  Treasury  for  the  taxes  of 
1861  and  1862,  by  the  31st  of  December, 
1862;  but  the  revenue  of  1861  has  fallen 
far  below  the  revenue  of  1860,  as  there  has 
only  been  forty-one  out  of  one  hundred 


27 


and  fourteen  counties  (the  whole  number 
in  the  State)  who  have  receipted  for  the  tax 
books  of  that  year,  1861.  See  Tables  A  and 
B.  Should  the  collections  of  1862  not 
exceed  those  of  1861,  which  is  very  proba- 
ble, owing  to  the  great  depreciation  in  the 
value  of  real  and  personal  property,  and 
the  loss  of  slaves  in  the  State,  it  will  require 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  revenues  of  these 
two  years,  1861  and  1862,  to  take  up  the 
defence  warrants  issued,  leaving  but  little 
money  in  the  Treasury  for  the  support  of 
the  civil  Government,  and  leaving  no  funds 
for  apportionment  to  the  school  and  asylum 
funds,  under  the  laws  of  the  State.  Under 
the  ordinance,  defence  warrants,  when 
once  paid  into  the  Treasury,  cannot  be 
issued  out  again,  but  must  be  cancelled  and 
destroyed;  the  ordinance  virtually  suspend- 
ing the  apportionment  and  distribution  of 
said  funds  (school  and  asylum)  for  the 
years  1861  and  1862.  I  doubt  somewhat 
the  policy  of  the  Convention  exercising  the 
powers  of  general  legislation,  as  the  legis- 
lative body  under  the  Constitution  will 
soon  be  elected  by  the  people,  when  all 
necessary  laws  can  be  enacted  ;  but  in  the 
absence  of  the  General  Assembly,  when  the 
interest  of  the  State  demands  immediate 
action,  I  think  it  proper  and  right  for  the 
Convention  to  adopt  such  measures  as  will 
carry  into  successful  operation  and  effect 
its  ordinances  heretofore  enacted.  I  would 
respectfully  suggest  that,  in  carrying  out 
the  several  ordinances  passed  by  the  Con- 
vention, considerable  expenses  were  in- 
curred for  the  promulgation  and  publication 
of  the  ordinances  in  the  public  newspapers 
throughout  the  State,  and  no  provision  was 
made  by  your  body  for  their  payment.  The 
only  special  appropriations  made  by  the 
law  of  the  land  to  cover  such  contingencies, 
under  which  the  Governor  and  Secretary  of 
State  had  authority  to  order  and  direct 
their  payment,  to  wit,  the  "  Contingent 
Expenses  of  the  Governor  and  Secretary,'5 
and  the  "  General  Contingent  Fund,"  had 
been  exhausted,  and  no  warrant  can  be 
drawn  by  the  Auditor  upon  a  fund  ex- 
hausted. Another  considerable  item  of 
expense  was  incurred  for  the  purchase  of 
books  for  the  defence  warrants,  having 


them  lithographed,  etc.,  and  books  for  reg- 
istration for  the  use  of  the  Auditor  and 
Secretary  of  State's  office.  I  would,  there- 
fore, recommend  the  passage  of  an  ordi- 
nance authorizing  the  payment  of  all  claims 
incurred  for  printing  and  publishing  the 
ordinances  of  the  Convention  in  the  various 
newspapers  in  the  State ;  for  all  expenses 
incurred  in  the  procurement  of  books  for 
the  Secretary  of  State  and  Auditor's  office 
for  the  registration  of  said  warrants,  and 
for  getting  up  and  preparing  blank  warrant 
books,  including  lithographing,  printing, 
binding,  &c.,  and  for  any  additional  clerk 
hire-  by  the  officers  having  charge  of  the 
preparation  and  getting  up  of  said  war- 
rants ;  said  accounts  to  be  presented  and 
approved  by  the  Governor,  and  paid  in 
defence  warrants,  by  any  Paymaster  or 
disbursing  officer  in  the  State  of  Missouri. 
The  amount  due  the  publishers  of  news- 
papers for  printing  and  publishing  the 
ordinances  of  the  Convention,  amounts  to 
from  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  dollars. 
They  are  a  needy  and  meritorious  class,  and 
performed  the  work  faithfully  and  expe- 
ditiously  without  murmur  or  complaint,  and 
should  be  paid  speedily.  Payment  should 
be  provided  for  all  expenses  incurred  in 
the  preparation  of  the  getting  up  and  de- 
livery of  those  warrants,  as  no  special 
appropriations  made  by  law  can  be  used  for 
that  purpose.  The  bills  for  lithographing, 
printing,  and  binding  of  warrants,  amount- 
ing to  the  sum  of  eighteen  hundred  dollars, 
have  been  paid  in  defence  warrants,  (upon 
the  approval  of  the  accounts  by  the  Gov- 
ernor,) by  the  Paymasters  of  the  Missouri 
State  Militia,  up  to  this  date  ;  but  there 
will  be  additional  accounts  for  printing  and 
binding  yet  to  be  paid.  The  additional 
labor  imposed  upon  the  Auditor  arid  Sec- 
retary of  State  has  been  great,  requiring 
their  personal  and  constant  attention 
whilst  registrations  were  being  ordered 
for  warrants,  sometimes  requiring  all  the 
clerical  force  of  both  offices,  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  daily  current  business  ; 
but  they  have  endeavored  to  faithfully 
discharge  the  additional  labor  with  alac- 
rity, and  hope  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  the  public. 


28 


Another  subject  of  legislation  is  well 
worthy  the  consideration  of  the  Convention, 
as  it  affects  much  the  revenues  of  the  State. 
I  allude  to  the  delinquent  land  list  of  the 
year  1861,  and  the  delinquent  land  list  of 
St.  Louis  county  for  the  year  1860.  The 
revenue  law  requires  the  collectors  to  return 
their  delinquent  land  list  to  the  Register's 
office  by  the  31st  day  of  December ;  if  not 
then  returned  it  cannot  be  received.  Owing 
to  our  troubles,  and  other  circumstances 
beyond  control,  no  delinquent  land  lists  for 
1861  have  been  received  and  filed  within  the 
time  required  by  law;  consequently,  none 
of  the  lands  can  be  redeemed  at  the  State 
Treasury,  nor  the  taxes  paid  in  the  counties 
where  situated,  The  lands  are  completely 
tied  up  ;  parties  cannot  pay  or  redeem  them, 
and  the  State  is  left  loser  to  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  dollars.  If  these  land  lists 
were  made  receivable  by  an  ordinance  of 
the  Convention,  as  is  always  done  by  special 
legislation,  I  am  satisfied  that  at  least  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  would  be  paid 
into  the  Treasury  on  those  lands  within  a 
short  period,  which  will  not  be  done  under 
the  present  circumstances ;  collectors  will 
be  relieved  from  liability,  and  the  State 
greatly  benefited. 

One  other  highly  important  and  patriotic 
subject  appeals  to  your  consideration,  and 
is  well  worthy  of  early  action ;  one  which 
calls  aloud  to  every  true  hearted  Missourian ; 
that  is,  the  care  and  protection  of  our  sick, 
wounded,  and  suffering  soldiery,  who  have 
suffered  upon  the  bloody  fields  of  Pea  Ridge 
and  Shiloh,  in  defence  of  our  common 
country.  Other  States  have  made  generous 
provisions  for  their  sick  and  wounded ; 
Governors  and  State  officials  have  visited 
the  battle-fields  with  all  the  means  neces- 
sary for  their  comfort  and  support;  why 
should  not  Missouri,  who  has  so  many  of 
her  sons  battling  for  the  Union  on  the  fields 


of  Tennessee  and  Arkansas,  lend  a  helping 
'  hand  to  them  in  the  hour  of  need  ?  When 
the  conflict  of  arms  is  over,  should  they  be 
forgotten  and  left  to  perish  away  from 
home  and  kindred?  Then  let  our  State 
come  to  the  rescue,  and  lend  a  helping  hand 
to  those  who  have  perilled  all  for  our  coun- 
|  try,  homes,  and  firesides.  The  amount  of 
defence  warrants  authorized  by  the  Con- 
vention is  one  million  of  dollars ;  the  amount 
issued  and  delivered  is  seven  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  leaving*  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  thousand  dollars.  As 
nearly  all  the  expenses  of  the  six  months' 
militia  have  been  paid,  place  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  of  these  warrants  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Governor,  to  be  expended 
in  providing  for  the  sick  and  wounded, 
bringing  them  home,  and  ministering  to 
their  wants  whilst  stricken  down  by  disease 
or  suffering  from  wounds  received,  and 
burying  those  who  have  fallen  in  the  bloody 
conflicts.  No  true  patriotic  Missourian 
would  murmur  at  such  an  appropriation. 
Men  who  have  perilled  their  lives  for  our 
homes,  for  the  preservation  and  perpetua- 
tion of  the  Union  as  our  fathers  made  it, 
are  deserving  and  entitled  to  our  aid  and 
sympathy. 

The  suggestions  I  have  presented  will,  in 
my  opinion,  if  adopted,  prove  highly  ben- 
eficial to  our  State  and  her  suffering  people. 
All  measures  which  tend  to  the  fostering 
and  protection  of  her  revenues,  are  highly 
important  and  necessary.  "The  revenue 
of  the  State  is  the  State;  in  effect  we  are 
dependent  upon  it,  whether  for  support  or 
for  reformation." 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obed't  serv't, 

WM.  S.  MOSELEY, 

Auditor. 

[See  Table  A;   also  Table  B.] 


29 


[  Table  A.] 


COUNTIES. 


Amount  of  Tax 
list  receipted      Amount  paid 
for  1861.  1861. 


1 


Adair , 

2  Andrew 

3  Atchison 

4  Boone 

5  Caldwell 

6  Colo 

7  Crawford 

8  Daviess 

9  Gentry 

10  Grund'y 

11  Harrison 

12  Henry 

13  Holt 

14  Howard 

15  Jefferson., 

16  Laclede 

17  Lafayette 

18  Lewis 

19  Lincoln 

20  Linn 

21  Maries 

22  Moniteau 

23  Mercer 

24  Monroe 

25  Montgomery.. 

26  Osage "... 

27  Perry 

28  Pettis 

29  Pike 

30  Putnam 

31  Rails 

32  Randolph 

33  Ray 

34  St.  Charles.... 

35  St.  Fran9ois... 

36  Ste.Genevieve 

37  St.  Louis 

38  Shelby 

39  Sullivan 

40  Warren 

41  Worth... 


,$  4,682  85 

10,378  06 

4,360  29 

22,422  77 

4,379  65 

7,720  62 

3,115  45 

6,421  43 

3,979  16 

3,725  47 

6,071  41 

9,911  44 

5,335  29 

21,730  69 

6,180  85 

3,470  21 

28,752  05 

10,051  10 

10,260  18 

4,886  81 

1,837  20 

6,866  47 

3,549  61 

12,403  61 

9,535  25 

4,106  61 

5,408  10 

6,435  40 

17,761  24 

4,112  33 

8,062  87 

9,569  00 

15,438  30 

14,662  83 

6^016  98 

5,607  45 

275,549  04 

7,095  01 

4,835  50 

5,590  99 

1,881  17 


$  4,682  85 
12,'904''26 


2,745  17 

6,409  89 


4,818  33 


1,256  60 


2,625  28 


3,362  88 
1,123  34 


8,995  36 


4,147  77 
195,393  98 


4,921  25 


Total  amount... $604,220  74  $253,386  96 
Dram  shop  licenses,  paid  by  B. 

McSorley,   collector    of    St. 

Louis $  9,137  40 

Insurance  agency  licenses,  paid 

by  S.  W.  feager,  Jr.,  collec- 
tor of  St.  Louis 2,744  00 

Dram  shop  licenses,  paid  by  C. 

J.  Carpenter,  collector  of  St. 

Louis 14,157  15 


Total  paid  into  Treasury  by  41 

Counties $279,425  51 

including  dram  shop  licenses 
of  St.  Louis  county. 


[  Table  B.] 

The  gross  amount  of  revenue  of 
1861,  chargeable  against  the 
various  Collectors,  up  to  this 
date,  (June  1st,  1862,)  as  per 
receipts  filed,  in  the  forty-one 
counties  referred  to  in  Table 
A,  is $604,220  74 

Amount  paid  into  the  Treasury, 
up  to  above  date,  as  per  re- 
ceipts of  Treasurer,  including 
Defence  Warrants,  is $253,386  90 

Leaving  a  balance  unpaid  on  the 
taxes  of  1861,  (less  commis- 
sions, mileage,  etc.,)  of $350,833  78 

[It  is  impossible,  at  this  time, 
to  give  the  net  revenue  of  1861, 
as  the  several  Collectors  have 
not  filed  their  delinquent  land 
lists  of  that  year,  and  their  ac- 
counts cannot  be  finally  balanc- 
ed and  closed  up  until  their  pro- 
per credits  are  allowed.  In  fact, 
many  of  the  Collectors  did  not 
receiveand  receipt  for  thebooks 
of  1861,  until  after  that  year 
had  expired ;  some  of  them  did 
not  receipt  for  the  books  till 
the  month  of  May,  1862.  The 
delinquent  land  and  personal 
lists  of  1861  will  greatly  ex- 
ceed the  lists  of  1859  and  I860.] 
Amount  of  cash  and  Defence 

Warrants   received  into  the 

Treasury,  on  the  taxes  and  li- 
censes of  said  year,  is $253,386  96 

On   dram  shop  licenses  of  St. 

Louis,  1861,  (McSorley) 9,137  40 

On  dram  shop  licenses  of  St. 

Louis,  1861,  (Carpenter) 14,157  15 

Foreign  insurance  licenses  of 

St.  Louis,  (S.  W.  Eager) 2,744  00 


Total  am't  received  in  1861,  in 

cash  and  Defence  Warrants. $279,425  51 

Number  of  Defence  Warrants 
issued  up  to  1st  June  1862,  is  $720,000  00 

Am'nt  paid  into  the 
Treas'y  up  to  said 
date,  is $94,265  00 

Returned  and  can- 
celled by  Major 
Sawyer,  Paymas- 
ter Missouri  State 
Militia 2,175  00 

Returned  and  can- 
celled by  Col.  C.C. 
Marsh,  Paymaster 
Missouri  State  Mi- 
litia   335  00  96,775  00 


Total  am't  of  outstanding  De- 
fence warrants  to  Jun.  1/62,  $623,225  00 


30 


CENSUS    OF   MISSOURI. 


TABLE   SHOWING   THE    POPULATION   OF  MISSOURI  BY  COUNTIES,  AS  RE- 
TURNED BY  THE  EIGHTH  CENSUS,  1860. 

Counties.  Whites.         Tree  Colored.  Slaves.  Total. 


Adair  

8,436  

9  

86  

8,531 

Andrew  

10,949  

21  

880  

1,1850 

Atchison  

4,578  

12  

59  

4,649 

Audrain  

6,909  

0  

1,166  

'    8,075 

Barry  

7,738  

10  

247  

7,995 

Barton  , 

1,796  

0  

21  

1,817 

Bates  

6,765  

8  

442  

7,215 

Benton  

8,460  

13  

599  

9,072 

Bolinger  

7,126  

0  

245  

7,371 

Boone  

14,399  

53  

5,034  

19,486 

Buchanan  

21,799  

51  

2,011  

23,861 

Butler  

2,837  

2  

52  

2,891 

Caldwell  

4,810  

2 

222  

5,034 

Callaway  

12,895  

31  

4,523  

17,449 

Camden  

4,769  

0  

206  

4,975 

Cape  Girardeau  

13,961  

53  /..... 

1,533  

15,547 

Carroll  , 

8,692  

3  

1,068  

9,763 

Cass  

8,781  

3  

1,010  

9,794 

Carter  

1,200  

15  

20  

1,235 

Cedar  

6,420  

6  

211  

6,637 

Chariton  

9.672  

51  

2,839  

12,562 

Christian  , 

5,262  

0  

229  

5,491 

Clark  

11,216  

13  

455  

11,684 

Clay  

9,525  

43  

3,453  

13,023 

Clinton  

6,685  

19  

1,144  

7,848 

Cole  

8,645  

65  

987  

9,697 

Cooper  

13,528  

28  

3,800  

17,356 

Crawford  

5,640  

1  

182  

5,823 

Dade  

6,721  

5  

346  

7,072 

Dallas  

5,777  

1  

114  

5,892 

Daviess  

9,248  

0  

358  

9,606 

DeKalb  

5,081  

6  

137  

5,224 

Dent  

5,498  

0  

156  

5,654 

Douglas  ,. 

2,414  

0  

0  

2,414 

Dunklin  

4,855  

0  

171  

5,026 

Franklin  

16,465  

19  

1,601  

18,085 

Gasconade  

8,641  

9  

76  ..... 

8,726 

Gentry  

11,862  

0  

118  

11,980 

Greene  

11,509  

9  

1,668  

13,186 

Grundy  

7,596  

6  

285  

7,887 

Harrison  

10,601  

0  

25  

10,626 

Henry  

8,620  

1  ...... 

1,245  

9,866 

Hickory  

4,503  

7  

195  

4,705 

31 


CENSUS  OP  MISSOURI—  (Continued). 

Counties. 

Whites. 

Free  Colored. 

Slaves. 

Total. 

Holt  

6,241 

0   

309  

6,550 

Howard  

9,986 

74  

5,886  

15,946 

Howell  

3,133 

0  

36  

3,169 

Iron  

5,529 

0  

313  

5,842 

Jackson  

18,882 

70  

3,944  

22,896 

Jasper  

6,533 

15  

335  

6,883 

Jefferson  

9,763 

17  

564  

10,344 

Johnson  

12,743 

5  

1,896  

14,644 

Knox  

8,436 

7  

284  

8,727 

Laclede  

4,875 

2  

305  

5,182 

Lafayette  

13,688 

36  

6,374  

20,098 

Lawrence  

8,559 

3  

284  

8,846 

Lewis  

10,983 

24  

1,279  

12,286 

Lincoln  

11,347 

23  

2,840  

14,210 

Linn  

8,509 

26  

577  

9,112 

Livingston  

6,812 

0  

605  

7,417 

Macon  

13,673 

13  

660  

14,346 

Madison  

5,179 

18  

467  

5,654 

Maries  

4,830 

7  

64  

4,901 

Marion  

15,732 

89  

3,017  

18,838 

McDonough  

3,957 

9  

72  

4,038 

Mercer  

9,274 

2 

24  

9,300 

Miller  

6,572 

2  

238  

6,812 

Mississippi  

3,849 

0  

1,010  

4,859 

Moniteau  

9,375 

4  

745  

103124 

Monroe  

11,722 

42  

3,021  

14,785 

Montgomery  

8,061 

10  

1,647  

9,718 

Morgan  

7,545 

8  

649  

8,202 

New  Madrid  

3,863 

14  

1,777  

5,654 

Newton  

8,842 

51  

426  

9,319 

Nodaway  

5,123 

2  

127  

5,252 

Oregon  

2,983 

0  

26  

3,009 

Osage  :  

7,622 

0  

256  

7,879 

Ozark  

2,361 

43  

43  

2,447 

Pemiscot  

2,682 

12  

268  

2,962 

Perry  

8,366 

23  

739  

9,128 

Pettis  

7,504 

6  

1,882  

9,392 

Phelps  

5,628 

2  

84  

5,714 

Pike  

14,302 

60  

4,055  

18,417 

Platte  

14,981 

56  

3,313  

18,350 

Polk  

9,468 

15  

512  

9,995 

Pulaski  

3,779 

0  

56  

3,835 

Putnam  

9,176 

0  

31  

9,207 

Rails  

6,788 

13  

1,791  

8,592 

Randolph  

8,777 

11  

2,619  

11,407 

Ray  

12,038 

7  

2,047  

14,092 

Reynolds  

3,135 

0  

38  

3,173 

Ripley  

3,667 

3  

78  

3,747 

St.  Charles  

14,313 

29  

2,181  

16,523 

32 


CENSUS  OF  MISSOURI—  (Continued}. 

Counties. 

Whites. 

Free  Colored. 

Slaves. 

Total. 

St.  Clair  

6,229 

9  

574  

6,812 

St.  Fran9ois  , 

6,292 

80  

877  

7,249 

Ste.  Gen  e  vi£  ve  

7,323 

89  

617  

8,029 

St.  Louis  

184,313 

1,865  

4,346  

190,524 

Saline  

9,800 

23  

4,876  

14,699 

Schuyler  

6,658 

0  

39  

6,697 

Scotland  

8,742 

0  

131  

8,873 

Scott  

4,730 

14  

503  

5,247 

Shann  on  

2,271 

0  

13  

2,284 

Shelby  

6,565 

12  

724  

7,301 

Stoddard  

7,659 

3  

215  

7,877 

Stone  

2.384 

0  

16  

2,400 

Sullivan  

9,095 

1  

102  

9,198 

Taney  

3,489 

5  

82  

3,576 

Texas  

6,009 

2  

56  

6,067 

Vernon  

4,712 

2  

136  

4,850 

Warren  

7,798 

7  

1,034  

8,839 

Washington  

8,670 

25  

1,028  

9,723 

Wayne  

5,361 

7  

261  

5,629 

Webster  

6,879 

0  

220  

7,099 

Wright  

4,442 

0  

66  

4,508 

Totals  

1,063,491 

3,572  

114,931  

1,181,994 

(Indians  not  included.} 

Gasconade  

1 

0  

0  

1 

Jackson  

17 

0  

0  

17 

Totals  

1,063,509 

3,572  

114,931  

1,182,012 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this  Convention  furnish  each  member  thereof  with 
a  copy  of  the  late  census  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 


PROCEEDINGS 


OK      T  II 


Missouri  State 


H  Tfi  I,  D      IN 


JEFFERSON   CITY, 


JUNE, 


ST.   LOUIS: 

GEORGE  KNAPP  &  CO.,  PRINTERS  AND  BINDERS. 

1862. 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF     TUB 


MISSOURI  STATE  CONVENTION, 


HELD    IN    JEFFERSON    CITY,    JUNE,    1862. 


FIEST   DAT. 


JEFFERSON  CITY,  June  2, 1862. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  by  the 
President  at  45  minutes  past  11. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  Elder  T.  M.  ALLEN. 

Mr.  SHANKLIN,  the  newly  elected  member 
from  the  Ninth  District,  in  place  of  Mr.  TIN- 
DALL,  deceased,  presented  his  credentials,  and 
was  sworn  in  by  the  President. 

The  roll  was  then  called  and  thirty-two  mem- 
bers answered  to  their  names  as  follows : 

Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckinridge,  Broad- 
head,  Brown,  Collier,  Comingo,  Douglass, 
Dunn,  Henderson,  Hitchcock,  How,  Howell, 
Jackson,  Leeper,  Linton,  Long,  McCormack, 
McDowell,  Meyer,  Moss,  Orr,  Pomeroy,  Ray, 
Rowland,  Shanklin,  Smith  of  St.  Louis,  Wal- 
ler, Welch,  Woolfolk,  Van  Buskirk,  Mr.  Pres- 
ident—32. 

There  being  less  than  a  quorum  of  members, 
the  Convention,  on  motion  of  Mr.  BOGY,  ad- 
iourned  to  5  o'clock. 

AFTERNOON   SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  at  5  o'clock. 

The  roll  was  called,  and  58  members  answer- 
ed to  their  names.  The  names  of  the  addition- 
al members  are  as  follows  : 

Messrs.  Bush,  Cayce,  Doniphan,  Eitzen, 
Flood,  Graham,  Hall  of  Buchanan,  Holmes, 
Hudgins,  Irwin,  Campbell,  Jamison,  Kidd, 
Marinaduke,  Marvin,  Matson,  McClurg,  Mc- 


Ferran,  Phillips,  Pipkin,  Rankin,  Scott,  Shack- 
elf  ord  of  St.  Louis,  Smith  of  Linn,  Stewart,  and 
Zimmerman. 

APPOINTMENT   OF   A    CHAPLAIN. 

Mr.  ROWLAND  offered  the  following  : 

Resolved,  That  Elder  THOMAS  M.  ALLEN  be 
and  is  hereby  appointed  Chaplain  during  the 
present  session. 

Mr.  WELCH.  It  occurs  to  me  that  the  office 
is  already  filled,  and  that  it  would  require  a 
resolution  to  declare  the  office-vacant. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  have  no  distinct  recollec- 
tion as  to  who  filled  that  office. 

The  PRESIDENT.     Dr.  Monroe. 

Mr.  STEWART.  Is  he  Secesh  or  Union  ?  If 
he  is  Secesh,  I  move  that  he  be  expelled. 

Mr.  ROWLAND.  I  offered  the  resolution  be- 
cause I  was  informed  that  we  had  no  Chaplain. 
Mr.  ALLEN  is  present,  and  ready  and  willing 
to  perform  the  duties  of  that  office.  He  has 
always  been  loyal,  and  I  hope  the  resolution 
will  be  adopted. 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 

MESSAGE    FROM    THE    GOVERNOR. 

The  PRESIDENT  laid  before  the  Convention 
the  following  communication  from  the  Govern- 
or, which  was  read  by  the  Clerk  : 
Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : 

You  have  again  been  called  together  because 
there  is  no  other  body  in  existence  that  can 
adopt  the  measures  which  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  State  demands. 


In  order  to  a  proper  understanding  of  our 
condition,  and  to  a  judicious  exercise  of  the 
powers  with  which  the  Convention  is  clothed,  it 
may  be  profitable  to  glance  rapidly  at  th**  events 
which  have  occurred  within  the  past  year. 

After  the  adjournment  on  the  22d  day  of 
March,  1861,  and  after  you  had  solemnly  ex- 
pressed the  judgment  of  the  people  of  the  State 
that  there  was  no  sufficient  cause  for  disturb- 
ing the  relations  existing  between  the  State 
and  the  United  States,  there  was  manifest  on 
the  part  of  those  exercising  the  executive  and 
legislative  powers  of  the  State  a  persistent  pur- 
pose to  dissolve  our  connection  with  the  Gene- 
ral Government,  and  attach  us  to  what  is  called 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  This  purpose  was 
exhibited  in  acts  tending  to  a  military  collision 
between  the  State  and  General  Government, 
and  finally  produced  the  battle  of  Boonville  on 
the  18th  day  of  June  last. 

From  that  time  the  Governor  fled  before  the 
military  authority  of  the  United  States,  charg- 
ed as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  with  trea- 
son against  his  Government,  other  high  execu- 
tive officers  and  many  of  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  being  implicated  in  the  same  charge 
of  treason,  in  like  manner  fled,  and  abandoned 
their  offices.  Thus  ithappened  when  you  again 
assembled,  in  July  last,  you  found  the  State 
Government  in  ruins,  with  no  magistracy  in  a 
condition  to  exercise  the  powers  which  were 
conferred  upon  them  by  the  Constitution,  in  or- 
der to  maintain  the  peace  of  the  State  and  the 
security  of  the  people.  It  was  among  the  wise 
orderings  of  a  kind  Providence  that  the  Con- 
vention should,  at  such  a  crisis,  be  in  existence, 
and  capable  of  meeting  the  emergency.  The 
alternative  was  presented  to  you  of  allowing 
the  Stale  Government  to  remain  in  ruins,  with 
anarchy  universally  prevailing,  with  no  power 
to  preserve  order,  except  as  it  might  be  exer- 
cised by  a  soldiery  chiefly  from  other  States,  or 
attempting  to  rear  again  the  Government  of 
the  State,  that  the  reign  of  law  might  be  re-es- 
tablished. You  chose  the  latter,  and  oiganized 
the  Provisional  Government.  Your  power  to 
do  so  cannot  be  successfully  questioned.  The 
necessity  for  your  action  will  be  admitted  by 
every  person  who  understands  what  was  then 
the  condition  of  the  State,  and  the  wisdom  of 
your  action  would  seem  to  be  established  by 
the  improvement  that  has  since  taken  place  in 
our  condition. 

If  we  look  back  to  the  time  of  establishing 
the  Provisional  Government,  we  will  see  such 
a  state  of  affairs  as  might  well  have  justified  a 


feeling  of  despondency  as  to  the  restoration  of 
peace  and  order.  Civil  war  was  fully  inaugu- 
rated j  the  popular  mind  was  greatly  inflam- 
ed ;  disregard  of  law  universally  reigned ; 
there  was  no  military  force  to  enforce  law  and 
preserve  order ;  there  were  no  arms  belonging  to 
the  State  to  put  into  the  hands  of  a  military  force 
if  we  had  had  one ;  there  was  no  money  in  the 
treasury  with»which  to  purchase  arms  or  subsist 
soldiers  ;  there  was  no  State  credit  upon  which 
to  raise  money  ;  and,  moreover,  a  very  large  ma- 
jority of  all  the  public  offices  of  the  State  were 
in  the  hands  of  persons  hostile  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  sympathizing  with 
those  engaged  in  the  rebellion,  and  opposed  to 
your  attempt  to  restore  peace.  Under  such 
circumstances,  it  was  not  surprising  that  some 
should  have  despaired  of  the  success  of  the  ex- 
periment to  restore  a  quick  and  peaceful  admin- 
istration of  the  State  Government.  Yet  it  was 
the  only  hope  that  was  left  to  those  who  really 
desired  to  preserve  the  State  Government  in  ac- 
tual operation. 

In  order  to  prepare  a  force  to  preserve  the 
peace  of  the  State,  a  call  was  made  for  forty- 
two  thousand  volunteers,  on  the  24th  of  August 
last,  to  serve  six  months.  After  this  call  was 
made,  many  hindrances  were  thrown  in  the 
way  of  its  being  answered.  Officers  and  men  be- 
longing to  regiments  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  depreciated  the  State  service  by  repre- 
senting the  utter  uncertainty  of  the  men  ever 
receiving  either  their  pay,  clothing,  or  subsis-  . 
tence.  These  representations  were  made,  not 
only  by  persons  raising  troops  as  Missouri  vol- 
unteers, but  by  others  who  were  in  regiments 
belonging  to  other  States,  who  desired  to  swell 
their  own  ranks.  Unfortunately  the  real  state 
of  facts  gave  too  much  color  of  truth  to 
these  representations,  and  rendered  them  the 
more  effectual  hindrances  to  the  raising  the 
number  of  volunteers  called  for.  Still,  more 
than  six  thousand  men  volunteered,  and  were 
organized  into  battalions  and  regiments,  under 
the  act  of  1859,  which  had  been  re-enacted  by 
the  Convention. 

As  the  recruiting  advanced,  the  difficulty  of 
providing  arms  and  subsistence  became  more 
apparent,  and  as  applications  to  the  Command- 
ing General  of  the  Department  for  arms  were 
unavailing,  it  became  necessary  to  have  a  per- 
sonal conference  with  the  authorities  at  Wash- 
ington. By  such  conference,  arms  were  ob- 
tained, and  the  sum  of  $200,000  was  advanced 
by  the  United  States,  out  of  an  appropriation 
made  in  July  last  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the 


loyal  citizens  in  States  where  rebellion  existed. 
Wiih  this  comparatively  email  sum,  the  attempt 
was  to  bo  made  to  provide  the  absolute  neces- 
laries  inquired  by  the  troops,  particularly  the 
articles  which  could  be  purchased  only  for 
cash.  And  it  is  proper  here  to  bear  testimony 
to  the  patient  fortitude  with  which  thpy  bore 
the  privations  to  which  they  were  subjected. 
It  was  plainly  impossible  to  supply  them  out 
of  thi>  sum  with  the  full  allowance  to  which 
soldiers  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  are 
entitled,  and  it  became  indispensably  necessary 
to  prac'ice  the  greatest  economy  in  order  to 
provide  them  even  with  indispensable  neces- 
saries. One  of  the  most  painful  duties 
was  to  be  obliged  to  listen  to  the  recital  of 
their  wants,  with  the  knowledge  that  they 
could  not  be  properly  met.  As  the  period  ap- 
proached at  which  they  ought  to  be  paid,  the 
difficulty  of  meeting  their  reasonable  demands 
for  pay  was  to  be  met.  Your  ordinance,  pass- 
ed at  the  October  session,  provided  for  meeting 
the  expense  of  the  whole  force,  by  authorizing 
the  issue  of  Defense  Warrants,  not  to  exceed  a 
million  of  dollars.  This  measure  relieved  the 
Executive  from  the  apprehension  of  immediate 
embarrassment,  but  was  inadequate  to  the  full 
support  of  any  considerable  force  for  a  long 
period.  It  was  plainly  necessary  that  some 
more  permanent  provisions  should  be  made,  in 
order  to  make  the  force  large  enough  to  be  ef- 
ficient, and  at  the  same  time  free  the  State 
treasury  fiom  a  burden  it  could  not  bear. 

In  order  to  accomplish  this  end,  another  per- 
sonal conference  was  sought  with  the  President, 
and  as  the  result,  an  engagement  was  effected 
under  which  the  Government  of  Ihe  United 
States  undertook  to  bear  all  the  expanse  of  a 
militaiy  force  to  be  raised  for  the  defense  of 
the  State  during  the  war,  to  be  organized  in  the 
manner  provided  for  the  organization  of  the 
volunteers  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
It  was  thought  that  this  arrangemer.t  would  be 
at  once  received  by  the  troops  already  in  the 
serviceof  the  State  as  a  guarantee  of  future, 
certain  and  regular  subsistence  and  pay,  and 
that  they  would  promptly  embrace  the  propo- 
sition to  organize  under  it.  But  as  they  were 
already  entitled  to  pay  which  they  had  not  re- 
ceived, arid  as  many  of  them  could  not  leave 
their  families  to  serve  in  distant  parts  of  the 
State  during  the  war,  it  was  found  that  they 
hesitated  to  engage  in  the  new  service. 

It  was  apparent  that  to  have  two  classes  of 
troops  at  the  same  time  in  the  service  of  the 
State,  one  supported  and  paid  by  the  United 


States  and  the  other  by  the  State,  would  pro- 
duce endless  confusion  and  difficulty.  The  ex- 
pense of  the  force  organized  under  the  act  of 
1859  was  greatly  enhanced  by  the  great  pro- 
portion of  officers  allowed  for  the  number  of 
men  enlisted  as  privates.  It  was,  therefore, 
judged  necessary  to  the  interest  of  the  State  and 
of  the  service,  to  pay  off  the  six  months'  men 
and  disband  them,  in  order  that  those  who  could 
serve  for  the  war  might  engage  in  the  force 
about  to  be  raised  and  supported  at  the  expense 
of  the  United  States. 

The  arrangement  made  with  the  President 
gave  an  impetus  to  the  enlistment  of  volunteers, 
but  a  construction  was  given  to  thf-  agreement 
which  required  a  whole  company  of  eighty  three 
men  to  be  raised  before  the  men  could  be  sub- 
sisted, clothed  and  paid  by  the  United  Slates. 
Although  there  had  been  received  from  the 
United  States  an  additional  sum  of  $25(1,000, 
it  became  apparent  that  this  money  would  soon 
be  consumed  in  furnis-hing  subsistence  and 
clothing  to  recruits  until  each  company  was 
ready  to  be  mustered  into  service  with  eighty- 
three  men.  It  became  necessary,  therefore,  to 
have  again  a  personal  conference  with  the  au- 
thoiities  at  Washington,  in  order  to  have  the 
agreement  carried  out  in  its  true  spirit.  This 
was  effected,  and  the  men  were  ordered  to  be 
mustered  into  service  singly  as  they  were 
recruited,  and  to  receive  their  subsistence  and 
clothing  at  once  from  the  proper  officers  of  the 
United  states. 

When  the  military  service  of  the  State  was 
placed  upon  this  basis,  it  was  immediately  ap- 
parent that  all  difficulty  in  raising  an  adequate 
force  was  removed.  Authorities  to  raise  regi- 
ments and  companies,  and  to  raise  recruits 
generally,  were  given  out,  arid  all  was  progress- 
ing well  when  Congress  interposed  and  limited 
the  number  to  be  paid  to  ten  thousand  men. 
Orders  had  to  be  issued  to  stop  recruiting,  but 
as  the  returns  came  in  it  has  been  found  that 
we  have  more  than  twelve  thousand  men,  and 
it  remains  to  be  known  whether  Congress  will, 
with  the  liberality  which  has  characterized  the 
conduct  of  the  Executive  Department  towards 
us,  provide  for  the  payment  of  this  excess. 
When  the  order  to  stop  recruiting  was  issued, 
it  found  fragments  of  regiments  which  had  to 
be  consolidated,  often  requiringseveral  to  make 
a  complete  regiment.  This  necessity,  of  course, 
produced  dissatisfaction  among  persons  who 
had  expected  to  command  regiments,  but  found 
themselves  reduced  to  lower  field  officers  in  the 
consolidated  regiments.  The  duty  of  making 


the  consolidation,  however,  was  unavoidable. 
There  are  now  fifteen  regiments  and  two  bat- 
talions, with  two  batteries  of  artillery  in  the 
field,  all  fully  equipped  and  armed,  ready  to 
serve  in  any  portion  of  the  State  where  an  en- 
emy may  appear.  The  men  are  our  own  peo- 
ple. The  officers  are  chiefly  selected  from  our 
own  citizens,  and  as  all  will  be  held  respon- 
sible for  wrongs  committed  upon  the  people  of 
the  State,  there  is  every  reason  to  anticipate  that 
the  rights  of  the  people  will  be  respected. 

It  was  a  part  of  the  arrangement  made  with  the 
President  that,  in  order  to  preserve  unity  of 
command,  the  Major  General  of  the  Depart- 
ment should  be  commissioned  Major  General  of 
the  State  militia.  Maj.  Gen.  Halleck  is,  there- 
fore, the  Major  General  of  the  Missouri  State 
Militia.  The  immediate  command  has  been  by 
him  turned  over  to  Brigadier  General  Schofield, 
of  the  volunteerservice,commissioned  Brigadier 
of  the  State  troops.  He  is  a  regularly  educa- 
ed  and  talented  officer  of  the  Army  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  distinguished  in  actual  service,  and 
has  rendered  to  the  State  very  valuable  assis- 
tance in  organizing  our  forces  and  selecting  the 
officers. 

The  other  Brigadiers  of  the  State  militia  are 
Gen.  Loan,  Gen.  Totten,  and  Gen.  Brown,  all 
of  whom  have  been  selected  on  account  of 
their  qualifications  to  command  forces  within 
the  State.  Gen.  Totten  is  known  to  the  coun- 
try as  an  officer  of  the  regular  army,  who  dis- 
tinguished himsejf  as  an  officer  of  artillery  at 
the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek. 

Considering  the  extent  of  the  country  to  be 
covered,  the  force  is  small,  but  they  are  capa- 
ble of  rapid  movement,  and  can  be  soon  con- 
centrated wherever  they  are  required. 

This  is  given  as  a  brief  but  sufficient  state- 
ment of  what  has  been  done  to  provide  a 
military  force  for  the  preservation  of  the  peace 
and  order  of  the  State,  and  it  would  be  wrong 
to  conclude  it  without  expressing  a  high  sense 
of  the  obligations  we  are  under  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  for  the  promptitude 
and  liberality  with  which  our  most  pressing 
wants  have  been  supplied. 

In  paying  the  troops  that  have  been  called 
into  service  for  six  months,  and  in  defraying 
the  expenses  incurred  in  the  support  of  that 
force,  there  has  been  issued  to  the  disbursing 
officers  the  sum  of  $720,000,  in  Defense  War- 
rants, and  there  will  have  to  be  issued  a  further 
amount,  which  may  swell  the  aggregate  to 
$775,000.  The  amount  in  circulation  has 
already  been  reduced  $100,000,  by  receipts 


into  the  Treasury  for  the  taxes  of  1861  from 
only  forty-one  counties.  It  will,  therefore,  be 
seen  that  the  whole  amount  issued  will  veiy 
soon  be  absorbed.  Most  unfortunately  for  the 
men  who  received  this  paper  for  their  services^ 
efforts  were  too  successfully  made  to  depreciate 
it,  as  well  by  those  who  were  opposed  to  the 
Government,  as  by  those  who  sought  only  their 
own  profit  by  speculating  in  it.  Thus,  at  one 
time,  it  fell  to  seventy  cents  on  the  dollar, 
and  afterwards  rose  to  eighty  and  eighty- five. 
Yet  its  ultimate  redemption  is,  in  fact,  better 
secured  than  that  of  any  bank  pa.per  in  the  State, 
because  it  is  receivable  in  payment  of  taxes — 
when  the  taxes  of  a  single  year  would  absorb 
it  all ;  and  it  has  a  specific  collateral  security 
of  bank  stock  pledged  to  its  redemption.  And, 
moreover,  the  debt  was  incurred  in  doing  what 
the  United  States  Government  was  bound  to  do 
— that  is,  in  defending  the  State  against  those 
who  were  in  insurrection  against  that  Govern- 
ment, and  therefore  that  Government  is  bound 
to  bear  the  burden  of  this  debt.  This,  no  doubt, 
will  be  attended  to  by  the  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  State  in  Congress.  Under 
such  circumstances,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  soldiers  to  whom  the  paper  was  issued 
have  been  obliged  by  their  necessities  to  submit 
to  the  extortion  of  money-changers. 

Turning  now  to  the  financial  condition  of  the 
State,  we  find  that  the  Provisional  Government 
commenced  with  a  prospect  as  little  flattering 
as  could  well  be  conceived. 

There  was  so  small  a  sum  in  the  Treasury, 
and  it  subject  to  previous  appropriations,  that 
it  is  right  to  call  the  Treasury  empty.  Our 
credit  was  gone,  because  we  had  already  failed 
to  pay  our  July  interest.  The  sheriffs  of  counties 
rather  than  attempt  to  collect  the  taxes  of  last 
year,  were  resigning  their  offices,  and  such  was 
the  state  of  the  country  that  there  appeared  but 
little  ground  to  hope  that  money  sufficient  would 
be  collected  to  carry  on  the  government.  Even 
now,  after  quiet  has  been  restored  in  a  large 
part  of  the  State,  the  Auditor  reports  that  but 
in  forty-one  counties  have  the  Sheriffs  receipted 
for  the  tax  books  of  1861.  These  are  charge- 
able with  revenue  to  the  amount  of  $604,220, 
and  they  have  paid  in  $253,386.  Besides  this 
sum,  there  has  been  received  for  licenses  from 
St.  Louis  county,  $26,038,  making  an  aggregate 
of  receipts  for  the  taxes  of  1861,  of  $279,425. 
Of  the  amount  paid  into  the  Treasury,  about 
$100,000  has  been  paid  in  Defense  Warrants. 

Although  it  is  impossible  to  present  to  you 
an  accurate  statement  of  the  amount  of  uncol- 


lected  taxes  for  the  year  1861,  it  will  be  seen 
that  it  must  be  very  large,  when  from  the  forty- 
one  counties  in  which  the  Sheriffs  have  received 
the  tax  books,  $350,834  remains  to  be  paid  into 
the  Treasury,  and  there  are  seventy-three 
counties  in  which  the  collection  has  not  yet 
been  attempted. 

As  it  is  unknown  how  far  the  Convention 
will  feel  itself  required  to  deal  with  the  financial 
questions  that  belong  to  ordinary  legislation, 
no  scheme  of  action  will  be  submitted  here  with 
a  view  to  expedite  the  collection  of  revenue 
due  the  State.  The  officers  in  the  different 
counties  are  finding  it  more  easy  to  make  col- 
lections as  the  peace  of  the  country  becomes 
better  established;  and  while  there  are  still 
many  counties  in  which  officers  have  not  been 
appointed,  because  in  their  disturbed  condition 
no  suitable  persons  have  been  recommended, 
yet  the  number  is  slowly  diminishing,  and  with 
the  restoration  of  quiet  will  begin  the  collection 
of  revenue. 

The  Auditor  will  report  to  yoa  the  state  of 
the  finances,  and  will  make  such  suggestions 
as,  in  his  opinion,  are  important  in  relation  to 
the  revenue. 

You  will  see  from  this  brief  statement,  that 
the  Provisional  Government  is  not  in  a  worse 
condition,  financially,  than  when  it  was  estab- 
lished. It  is  true  that  another  instalment  of 
the  July  interest  upon  our  bonds  has  become 
due  and  is  unpaid,  but  it  may  be  assumed  that 
the  holders  of  our  bonds  have  not  expected  us 
to  pay  the  interest  when  the  tide  of  war  was 
rolling  over  our  State,  and  that  they  will  not 
fiud  in  our  failure  to  pay,  under  such  circum- 
stances, any  reason  to  doubt  our  purpose  to  pay 
ultimately. 

Your  ordinance,  passed  at  your  October 
session,  vacating  the  offices  of  those  who 
refused  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  therein 
prescribed,  has  occasioned  numeroud  changes 
among  the  holders  of  offices.  There  still  re- 
main many  offices  to  be  filled,  as  the  progress 
in  obtaining  information  about  persons  suitable 
to  be  appointed  has  been  in  some  parts  of  the 
State  very  slow. 

So  far  as  is  known,  the  appointments  have 
given  general  satisfaction,  and  there  is  reason 
to  hope  that  the  interests  of  the  State  have  not 
suffered  by  the  change. 

There  is  an  ambiguity  in  this  ordinance  which 
•would  now  require  too  much  time  to  state,  but 
which  will  need  a  short  explanatory  ordinance. 
The  matter  will  be  brought  to  the  attention  of 
some  one  of  your  committees. 


In  this  glance  at  the  principal  operations  of 
the  Provisional  Government,  it  is  hoped  that 
you  will  find  the  result  to  be  that  much  good 
and  no  evil  has  been  done,  either  to  the  people  or 
to  the  principles  of  Constitutional  Government. 

In  the  largest  part  of  the  State,  courts  of 
justice  are  open,  and  the  law  regularly  admin- 
istered. The  people  are  generally  pursuing 
their  ordinary  vocations  in  peace  and  security, 
and  confidence  is  being  gradually  though  slowly 
restored. 

It  is  true  that  in  some  parts  of  the  State  there 
are  yet  disturbances,  and  crimes  the  most  brutal 
are  perpetrated  by  outlaws,  who  would  fain 
conceal  the  base  character  of  their  enormities 
by  calling  them  guerrilla  warfare.  They  can 
propose  to  themselves  no  end  but  the  gratifica- 
tion of  a  fiendish  malignity.  Certainly  neither 
patriotism  nor  humanity  can  sanction  their 
conduct.  It  is  believed  that  a  sufficient  force 
is  provided  to  compel  them  to  peace. 

Although  our  State  has  been  visited  by  a  class 
of  troops  who  came  with  feelings  of  hostility 
to  our  people  and  our  institutions,  and  who, 
under  the  guise  of  supporting  the  Union,  per- 
petrated enormous  outrages  upon  our  citizens, 
yet  successful  measures  have  been  adopted  for 
the  security  of  our  people  and  for  the  removal 
of  such  troops,  so  as  to  relieve  us  from  their 
presence  in  the  future. 

The  thought  has  often  presented  itself,  sug- 
gested by  the  conduct  of  such  troops,  that  if 
the  armies  which  have  marched  over  every  part 
of  our  State  had  come  into  and  marched  through 
it  as  through  a  country  that  was  altogether 
hostile,  we  should  have  found  ourselves  now  in 
a  country  altogether  desolated. 

But  it  may  be  ascribed  to  the  Convention, 
and  to  the  kindness  of  a  controling  Providence, 
using  the  Convention,  that,  although  the  State 
has  suffered  greatly,  it  has  not  been  entirely 
ruined. 

And  if  the  effort  to  restore  the  State  Govern- 
ment should  be  entirely  successful,  and  peace 
and  prosperity  once  more  should  be  established 
in  the  State,  the  praise  will  be  given  by  a  happy 
people,  first  to  God  who  rules  all  nations,  and 
under  Him  to  the  patriotism  and  wisdom  of  the 
Convention  which  He  has  employed. 

But  the  work  is  not  yet  completed,  and  still 
demands  that  all  the  wisdom  and  energy  of  all 
the  true  friends  of  the  State  should  be  employed 
in  harmonious  counsel  and  united  action  in 
building  up  and  cementing  the  fabric  we  are 
laboring  to  rear.  It  would  be  most  disastrous 
if  the  laborers  engaged  in  this  patriotic  work 


should  allow  themselves  to  be  diverted  from 
their  undertaking  by  anything  that  will  distract 
their  attention  or  diminish  their  energy. 

In  the  call  under  which  you  are  now  assem- 
bled, one  subject  is  mentioned  as  requiring 
your  action — that  is,  dividing  the  State  into 
Congressional  Districts. 

We  are  entitled  to  nine  Representatives  in 
the  next  Congress,  and  it  is  required  that  they 
should  be  elected  by  districts. 

In  these  times  of  extreme  ultraism,  our  Rep- 
resentatives should  appear  in  the  House, 
elected  in  such  manner  as  to  be  entitled  to  their 
seats  without  question.  It  is  true  that  on  a 
former  occasion  of  increase  in  our  Congres- 
sional representation,  the  General  Assembly 
adopted  a  plan  of  electing  the  additional  mem- 
bers without  there  having  been  new  districts 
provided  for  them  before  the  general  election. 
But  in  present  circumstances,  it  is  not  prudent 
to  leave  any  question  of  their  right  open  to 
discussion. 

It  is  altogether  questionable  whether  our  plan 
of  electing  members  of  Congress  some  seven- 
teen months  before  they  ordinarily  take  their 
seats,  is  wise. 

In  times  like  the  present,  when  new  and 
startling  questions  are  frequently  arising,  the 
Representative  who  may  be  elected  in  August, 
1862,  may  find  all  the  questions  with  reference 
to  which  he  was  elected,  settled  when  he  takes 
his  seat  in  December,  1863,  and  that  new  and 
more  momentous  issues  hare  arisen  since  his 
election,  upon  which  his  constituents  have  not 
expressed  their  will. 

Although  it  is  time  that,  upon  an  extraordi- 
nary occasion,  Congress  may  be  called  so  as  to 
require  his  attendance  before  the  first  Monday 
in  December,  yet  such  are  exceptional  cases, 
and  do  not  affect  the  principle  that  the  Repre- 
sentative ought  to  be  chosen  because  of  the 
conformity  of  his  opinions  to  those  of  his  con- 
stituents upon  the  questions  upon  which  he  is  to 
act. 

There  are  other  strong  objections  to  our  time 
of  electing  members  of  Congress,  but  as  it  is 
not  intended  to  make  any  recommendations 
upon  this  subject,  time  will  not  be  occupied  in 
stating  them. 

In  your  ordinance,  passed  at  your  July  ses- 
sion, establishing  the  Provisional  Government, 
it  was  provided  that  an  election  of  executive 
officers  should  be  held  in  November,  and  that 
at  that  election  a  vote  should  be  taken  upon 
the  question,  whether  your  action  in  establish- 
ing such  government  should  be  ratified.  The 


vote  was  subsequently  postponed  until  the  gen- 
eral election  in  next  August. 

It  is  submitted  for  your  consideration, 
whether  that  part  of  the  ordinance  ought  not 
to  be  annulled. 

More  than  30,000  of  our  people  are  volun- 
teers in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  most 
of  the  number  being  out  of  the  State.  Their 
voice  should  be  heard  on  a  question  so  vitally 
affecting  their  State,  and^ret  it  has  been  found 
that  all  votes  in  military  camps,  taken  under 
laws  that  have  directed  such  votes,  have  afford- 
ed opportunities  for  imposition,  which  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  guard  against.  It  is 
clearly  right  that  the  voice  of  this  class  of  citi- 
zens should  be  heard,  but  to  take  their  votes  in 
distant  camps  involves  too  much  of  imposition 
to  be  attempted. 

There  is  another  consideration  of  the  greatest 
moment.  The  question  to  be  voted  upon  is, 
under  existing  circumstances,  not  a  question 
between  the  Provisional  Government  and  some 
other  administration  of  the  State  Government, 
but  between  the  Provisional  Government  and 
no  government  at  all  j  for  every  person  knows 
that  the  former  executive  officers  would  be 
immediately  arrested  for  treason  if  they  came 
within  reach  of  the  officials  of  the  United  States. 
After  the  Provisional  Government  has  been  in 
operation  for  a  year  no  such  question  ought  to 
be  considered  open  to  discussion. 

Whether  you  should  think  it  necessary  or 
not  to  require  any  oath  of  loyalty  as  a  general 
qualification  for  all  voters  at  the  approaching 
August  election,  it  is  submitted  to  you  as  a  mat- 
ter demanding  your  action,  that  an  oath  beyond 
that  prescribed  by  the  Constitution  should  be  re- 
quired of  all  persons  who  may  be  elected  to 
office.  The  oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitution 
is  so  general,  that,  though  its  terms,  when 
rightly  understood,  comprehend  the  great  duties 
of  a  citizen  to  his  Government,  yet  it  fails  to 
impress  the  minds  of  those  who  take  it  with 
a  clear  idea  of  the  obligation  it  imposes. 

Again,  the  oath  thus  prescribed  is  altogether 
prospective  in  its  requirements,  but  the  State 
should  be  protected  against  persons  who  have 
in  the  past  been  unfaithful. 

These  are  the  subjects  which  at  this  time 
most  require  your  attention. 

H.  R.  GAMBLE. 


AUDITOR'S   REPORT. 

The  following  report  from  the  Auditor  was 
also  submitted  to  the  Convention : 


AUDITOR'S  OFFICE,  MISSOURI,  I 
JKFFERSON  CITY,  June,  1862.      ) 
To  the  President  of  the  Missouri  State  Conven-  ; 

tton : 

I  have  deemed  it  important  to  the  fiscal  af- 
fairs of  our  State,  as  one  of  her  public  ser- 
varts  having  charge  of  her  monetary  affairs, 
to  submit  to  your  honorable  body  some  consid- 
erat.ons  and  facts,  which,  if  adopted,  may  re- 
sult ri  great  advantage  to  the  State  ;  lead  to  an  I 
entire  absorption  of  the  Defense  Warrants,  is- 
sued \>y  virtue  of  the  ordinance  of  18th  Octo- 
ber, 1B61  ;  save  the  sale  of  the  bank  stock, 
pledged  for  their  redemption  ;  and  afford  great  j 
relief  lo  our  suffering  tax-payers,  by  extending 
their  reception  for  the  taxes  due  the  State  in 
1863. 

Under  the  ordinance  above  referred  to  there 
has  been  issued,  on  the  requisitions  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  delivered  to  the  various  Assistant 
Paymasters  of  the  Missouri  State  Militia,  and 
the  Quartermaster  General  of  Missouri,  the  sum 
of  seven  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars, 
up  to  the  present  date.  Of  this  amount,  the 
largest  sura  has  been  paid  out  to  the  six  months' 
militia,  and  the  balance  disbursed  by  the  Quar- 
termaster General  in  payment  for  forage,  provi- 
sions and  supplies,  ordnance  stores,  etc.,  under 
the  ordinance  of  October  18, 1861.  These  war- 
rants have  gone  into  general  circulation  ;  and  in 
counties  where  the  revenue  has  been  collected,  have 
soon  been  returned  to  the  State  Treasury ;  the 
holders  of  these  warrants,  in  those  counties, 
who  were  tax-payers,  have  suffered  no  loss,  as 
they  readily  answered  the  wants  of  the  com- 
munity, la  many  instances,  however,  owing 
to  the  stringency  of  the  money  market,  the  un- 
settled condition  of  affairs,  the  gloomy  future 
before  us,  many  of  our  soldiery  and  needy  cit- 
izens have  had  to  suffer  considerable  deprecia- 
tion in  their  value,  in  exchanging  them  for  par 
funds.  This  depreciation  was  caused  from  the 
want  of  a  home  demand  in  non-tax-paying  coun- 
ties, by  the  Shylocks  and  brokers,  who  saw 
opened  up  to  them  a  fine  field  of  speculation, 
in  the  disordered  condition  of  the  financial  af- 
fairs of  our  State.  I  believe,  however,  if  the 
Convention  would  amend  the  ordinance  of  Oc- 
tober 18,  1861,  and  make  them  receivable  for 
the  taxes  of  1863 — arid  for  all  balances  due  by 
late  collectors  for  the  taxes  of  1860 — the  value 
of  the  warrants  would  be  appreciated  to  par  j 
the  whole  amount  issued  would  be  retired  and 
paid  iiito  the  treasury  j  the  State  relieved  from 
the  debt  created  j  the  civil  government  carried 
on  without  resort  to  borrowing  j  the  people  of 


the  State  greatly  enabled  to  pay  the  revenue  of 
1863  j  and  the  bank  stock  taved  from  sale  at  its 
present  depreciated  price. 

1st.  Make  them  receivable  from  late  collec- 
tors, who  are  in  default  for  all  balances  due  the 
State,  for  the  taxes  of  1860. 

2d.  Make  them  receivable  for  the  taxes  of 
the  year  1863. 

This  extension  of  time  would  give  three  years 
for.  their  redemption,  leaving  other  means  suf- 
ficient (exclusive  of  Defense  Warrants)  to  de- 
fray the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  State  Gov- 
ernment, which  will  reach  three  hundi  ed  thou- 
sand dollars  per  annum,  exclusive  of  the  deduc- 
tion of  the  20  per  cent,  per  annum  for  the  year 
1862  for  the  pay  of  civil  officers. 

The  ordinance  of  the  Convention  of  October 
18th,  1861,  provided  for  the  redemption  of 
these  warrants  by  the  31st  of  December,  18625 
and  if  not  then  redeemed,  pledged  the  bank  stock 
owned  by  the  State  for  their  payment.  It  was 
contemplated  that  if  the  revenues  of  1861  and 
1862  would  equal  the  revenues  of  1859  and 
1860,  (about  $880,COO  each  year,)  the  whole 
amount  would  be  received  into  the  treasury  for 
the  taxes  of  1861  and  1862,  by  the  31st  of  De- 
cember, 1862  5  but  the  revenue  of  1861  has  fall- 
en far  below  the  revenue  of  1860,  as  there  has 
only  been  forty-one  out  of  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  counties,  (the  whole  number  in  the 
State,)  which  have  receipted  for  the  tax  books 
of  that  year,  (1861).  See  tables  A  and  B. 
Should  the  collections  of  1862  not  exceed  those 
of  1861,  which  is  very  probable,  owing  to  the 
great  depreciation  in  the  value  of  real  and  per- 
sonal property,  and  the  loss  of  slaves  in  the 
State,  it  will  require  nearly  the  whole  revenues 
of  these  two  years,  1861  and  1862,  to  take  up 
the  Defense  Warrants  issued,  leaving  but  little 
money  in  the  treasury  for  the  support  of  the 
civil  government,  and  leaving  no  funds  for  ap- 
portionment to  the  school  and  asylum  funds 
under  the  laws  of  the  State.  Under  the  ordi- 
nance, Defense  Warrants,  when  once  paid  into 
the  treasury,  cannot  be  issued  out  again,  but 
must  be  cancelled  and  destroyed  ;  the  ordinance 
virtually  suspending  the  apportionment  and 
distribution  of  said  funds  (school  and  asylum) 
for  the  years  1861  and  1862. 

I  doubt,  somewhat,  the  policy  of  the  Con- 
vention exercising  the  powers  of  general  legis- 
lation, as  the  legislative  body,  under  the  Con- 
stitution, will  soon  be  elected  by  the  people, 
when  all  necessary  laws  can  be  enacted }  but 
in  the  absence  of  the  General  Assembly,  when 
the  interest  of  the  State  demands  immediate  ac- 


10 


tion,  I  think  it  proper  and  right  for  the  Conven- 
tion to  adopt  such  measures  as  will  carry  into 
successful  operation  and  effect  its  ordinances 
heretofore  enacted.  I  would  respectfully  sug- 
gest that  in  carrying  out  the  several  ordinances 
passed  by  the  Convention,  considerable  ex- 
penses were  incurred  for  the  promulgation  and 
publication  of  the  ordinances  in  the  public 
newspapers  throughout  the  State  ;  and  no  pro- 
vision was  made  by  your  body  for  their  pay- 
ment. The  only  special  appropriations  made 
by  the  law  of  the  land  to  cover  such  contingen- 
cies, under  which  the  Governor  and  Secretary 
of  State  had  authority  to  order  and  direct  their 
payment — to  wit :  the  "  Contingent  expenses 
of  the  Governor  and  Secretary,"  and  the  "Gen- 
eral Contingent  Fund" — had  been  exhausted, 
and  no  warrant  can  be  drawn  by  the  Auditor 
upon  a  fund  exhausted.  Another  considerable 
item  of  expense  was  incurred  for  the  purchase 
of  books  for  the  Defense  Warrants,  having 
them  lithographed,  &c.,  and  books  for  registra- 
tion for  the  use  of  the  Auditor  and  Secretary 
of  State's  offices. 

I  would,  therefore,  recommend  the  passage 
of  an  ordinance  authorizing  the  payment  of  all 
claims  incurred  for  printing  and  publishing  the 
ordinances  of  the  Convention  in  the  various 
newspapers  in  the  State,  for  all  expenses  in- 
curred in  the  procurement  of  books  for  the 
Secretary  of  State  and  Auditor's  offices,  for 
the  registration  of  said  warrants,  and  for  get- 
ting up  and  preparing  blank  warrant  books,  in- 
cluding lithographing,  printing,  binding,  &c., 
and  for  any  additional  clerk  hire  by  the  offi- 
cers having  charge  of  the  preparation  and  get- 
ting up  of  said  warrants ;  said  accounts  to  be 
presented  an'*  approved  by  the  Governor,  and 
paid  in  Defense  Warrants  by  any  paymaster  or 
disbursing  officer  in  the  State  of  Missouri. 
The  amount  due  the  publishers  of  newspapers 
for  printing  and  publishing  the  ordinances  of 
the  Convention,  amounts  to  from  eight  hundred 
to  one  thousand  dollars ;  they  are  a  needy  and 
meritorious  class,  and  performed  the  work 
faithfully  and  expeditiously,  without  murmur 
or  complaint,  and  should  be  paid  speedily.  Pay- 
ment should  be  provided  for  all  expenses  incur- 
red in  the  preparation  of  the  getting  up  and  deliv 
ery  of  those  warrants,  as  no  special  appropria- 
tions made  by  law  can  be  used  for  that  purpose. 
The  bills  for  lithographing,  printing  and  bind- 
ing of  warrants,  amounting  to  the  sum  of  eigh- 
teen hundred  dollars,  have  been  paid  in  De- 
fense Warrants,  (upon  the  approval  of  the  ac- 
counts by  the  Governor,)  by  the  Paymasters 


of  the  Missouri  State  Militia,  up  to  this  date  } 
but  there  will  be  additional  accounts,  for  print- 
ing and  binding,  yet  to  be  paid.  The  addition- 
al labor  imposed  upon  the  Auditor  and  Secre- 
tary of  State  has  been  great,  requiring  thdr 
personal  and  constant  attention  whilst  regis- 
trations were  being  ordered  for  warrants,  some- 
times requiring  all  the  clerical  force  of  !>oth 
offices,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  daily  current 
business;  but  they  have  endeavored  to  faith- 
fully discharge  the  additional  labor,  with  alac- 
rity and  hope,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the 
public. 

Another  subject  of  legislation  is  well  wor- 
thy the  consideration  of  the  Convention,  as  it 
affects  much  the  revenue  of  the  State.  I  allude 
to  the  delinquent  land  list  of  the  yeer  1861, 
and  the  delinquent  land  list  of  St.  Louis  coun- 
ty for  the  year  1860.  The  revenue  law  re- 
quires the  collectors  to  return  their  delinquent 
land  lists  to  the  Register's  office  by  tb*e  31st  day 
of  December ;  if  not  then  returned,  they  can- 
not be  received.  Owing  to  our  troubles,  and 
other  circumstances  beyond  control,  no  delin- 
quent land  lists  for  1861  have  been  received 
and  filed  within  the  time  required  by  law,  con- 
sequently none  of  the  lands  can  be  redeemed 
at  the  State  treasury,  nor  the  taxes  paid  in  the 
counties  where  situated.  The  lands  are  com- 
pletely tied  up  ;  parties  cannot  pay  or  redeem 
them,  and  the  State  is  left  loser  to  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  dollars.  If  these  land  lists 
were  made  receivable  by  an  ordinance  of  the 
Convention,  as  is  always  done  by  special  legis- 
lation, I  am  satisfied  that  at  least  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  would  be  paid  into  tbe  treas- 
ury on  those  lands  within  a  short  period,  which 
will  not  be  done  under  the  present  circumstan- 
ces; collectors  will  be  relieved  from  liability, 
and  the  State  greatly  benefitted. 

One  other  highly  important  and  patriotic 
subject  appeals  to  your  consideration,  and  is 
well  worthy  of  early  action  ;  one  which  calls 
aloud  to  every  true  hearted  Missourian  :  that  is 
the  care  and  protection  of  our  sick,  wounded, 
suffering  soldiery,  who  have  suffered  upon  the 
bloody  fields  of  Pea  Ridge  and  Shiloh,  in  de- 
fense of  our  common  country.  Other  States 
have  made  generous  provision  for  their  sick  and 
wounded.  Governors  and  State  officials  have 
visited  the  battle  fields,  with  all  the  means  ne- 
cessary for  their  comfort  and  support ;  why 
should  not  Missouri,  who  has  so  many  of  her 
sons  battling  for  the  Union,  on  the  fields  of 
Tennessee  and  Arkansas,  lend  a  helping  hand 
to  them  in  the  hour  of  need  ?  When  the  COH- 


11 


flict  of  arms  is  over,  should  they  be  forgotten, 
and  left  to  perish  away  from  home  and  kin- 
dred? Then  let  our  State  come  to  the  rescue, 
and  lend  a  helping  hand  to  those  who  have  per- 
iled all  for  our  country,  homes  and  firesides. 

The  amount  of  Defense  Warrants  authorized 
by  the  Convention  is  one  million  of  dollars  j 
the  amount  issued  and  delivered  is  seven  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  dollars,  leaving  two 
hundred  and  eighty  thousand  dollars.  As  near- 
ly all  the  expenses  of  the  six  months'  militia 
have  been  paid,  place  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  of  these  warrants  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Governor,  to  be  expended  in  providing  for 
the  sick  and  wounded ;  bringing  them  home, 
and  ministering  to  their  wants  whilst  stricken 
down  by  disease,  or  suffering  from  wounds 
received,  and  burying  those  who  have  fallen  in 
the  bloody  conflicts.  No  true  patriotic  Mis- 
sourian  would  murmur  at  such  an  appropria- 
tion ;  men  who  have  periled  their  lives  for  our 
homes,  for  the  preservation  and  perpetuation 
of  the  Union,  as  our  fathers  made  it,  are  de- 
serving and  entitled  to  our  aid  and  sympathy. 

The  suggestions  I  have  presented  will,  in  my 
opinion,  if  adopted,  prove  highly  beneficial  to 
our  State  and  her  suffering  people.  All  meas- 
ures which  tend  to  the  fostering  and  protection 
of  her  revenues,  is  highly  important  and  neces- 
sary. 

"  The  revenue  of  the  State  is  the  State  ;  in 
effect  we  are  dependent  upon  it,  whether  for 
support  or  for  reformation.'' 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  ob't  servant, 

WM.  S.  MOSELEY, 

Auditor. 
See  table  A;  also,  table  B. 


Adair  ... 
Andrew  • 
Atchison 


[Table  ^.] 
Am'nt  of  Tax 
list  receipted 

for  1861. 

•  •  •  $  4,682  85 
...  10,378  06 
4,360  29 


Amount  paid 

1861. 
$    4,682  85 


4  Boon  e 22,42277         12,90420 

5  Caldwell 4,379  65  

6  Cole 7,720  62  

7  Crawford 3,115  45  

8  Daviess 6,421  43  

9  Gentry 3,979  16 

10  Grundy 3,725  47 

11  Harrison *  6,071  41 

12  Henry 9,911  44 

13  Holt 5,335  29 

14  Howard 21,73069 

15  Jefferson 6,180  85 

16  Laclede 3,470  21 

17  Lafayette  28,752  05 

18  Lewis 10,051  10 


2,745  17 
6,409  89 


4,818  33 


19  Lincoln 10,260  18 

20  Linn 4,886  81 

21  Maries 1,837  20 

22  Moniteau 6,866  47 

23  Mercer 3,549  61 

24  Monroe 12,463  61 

25  Montgomery  • . .        9,535  25 

26  Osage 4,106  61 

27  Perry  5,408  10 

28  Pettis  6,435  40 

29  Pike 17,761  24 

30  Putnam 4,112  33 

8.062  87 
9,569  00 
15,438  30 
14,662  83 
6,016  98 
5,607  45 
275,549  04 
7,095  01 
4,835  50 
5,590  99 
1,881  17 


31  Rails 

32  Randolph 

33  Ray 

34  St.  Charles  ... 

35  St.  Fran9ois-«. 

36  Ste.Genevieve. 

37  St.  Louis 

38  Shelby  

39  Sullivan 

40  Warren    

41  Worth 


1,256  60 
2,625  28 


3,362  88 
1,123  34 


8,995  36 

4,147  77 
195,393  98 


4,921  25 


Total  amount . . .  $604,220  74     $253,386  96 
Dram  shop  licenses,  paid  by  B.  McSorley,  col- 
lector of  St.  Louis  • $    9,13740 

Insurance  agency  license,  paid  by 
S.  W.  Eager,  jr.,  collector  of  St.- 

Louis 2,744  00 

Dram  shop  licenses,  paid  by  C.  J. 

Carpenter,  collector  of  St.Louis,     14,157  15 

Total  paid  into  Tre'ry  by  41  co's . .  $279,425  51 
including  dram  shop  licenses  of  St.  Louis 
county. 

[Table  £.] 

The  gross  amount  of  revenue  of 
1861,  chargeable  against  the  va- 
rious Collectors,  up  to  this  date, 
(June  1st,  1862,)  as  per  receipts 
filed,  in  the  forty-one  counties  re- 
ferred to  in  table  A,  is $604,220  74 

Amount  paid  into  the  Treasury,  up 
to  above  date,  as  per  receipts  of 
Treasurer,  including  Defense 

Warrants,  is.... $253,386  90 

Leaving  a  balance  unpaid  on  the 
taxes  of  1861,  (less  commissions, 

mileage,  etc.,)  of $ 350,833  78 

[It  is  impossible,  at  this  time,  to 
give  the  net  revenue  of  1861,  as 
the  several  Collectors  have  not  filed 
their  delinquent  land  lists  of  that 
year,  and  their  accounts  cannot  be 
finally  balanced  and  closed  up  un- 
til their  proper  credits  are  allowed. 
In  fact,  many  of  the  Collectors  did 
not  receive  and  receipt  for  the  books 
of  1861  until  after  that  year  had  ex- 
pired ;  some  of  them  did  not  receipt 
for  the  books  till  the  month  of  May, 
1862.  The  delinquent  land  and  per- 
sonal lists  of  1861  will  greatly  ex- 
ceed the  lists  of  1859  and  I860.] 
Amount  of  cash  and  Defense  War- 
rants received  into  the  Treasury, 
on  the  taxes  and  licenses  of  said 


year,  is 


$253,386  96 


12 


On  diam  shop  licenses  of  St.  Lou- 
is, 1861,  (  McSorley ) 9,137  40 

On  dram  shop  licenses  of  St.  Louis, 
1861  (Carpenter) 14,167  15 

Foreign  insurance  licenses  of  St. 
Louis,  (S.  W.  Eager) 2,744  00 


Total  amount  received  in  1861,  in 

cash  and  Defense  Warrants ....  $279,425  51 

Number  of  Defense  Warrants  issu- 
ed up  to  the  1st  of  June,  1862,  is- $720,000  00 

Amount  paid  into  the 
Treasury  up  to  said 
date,  is $94,265  00 

Returned  and  cancelled 
by  Maj.  Sawyer,  Pay- 
master Missouri  State 
Militia 2,175  00 

Returned  and  cancelled 
by  Col.  C.  C.  Marsh, 
Paymaster  Missouri 
State  Militia 335  00  96,775  00 


Total  amount  of  outstanding  De- 
fense Warrants,  to  June  1,  1862- $623,225  00 

On  motion  of  Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan,  the 
message  was  laid  on  the  table  and  200  copies 
ordered  to  be  printed. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BROWN,  ifc  was  ordered 
that  the  Secretary  furnish  each  member  with  a 
copy  of  the  census  of  Missouri. 

APPOINTMENT   OF    COMMITTEES. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK  offered  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  the  following  standing  com- 
mittees be  appointed  by  the  Convention  to  take 
into  consideration  the  suggestions  made  by  the 
Governor : 

First. — A  Committee  on  Elections,  to  consist 
of  five  members. 

Second. — A  Committee  on  Congressional 
Districts,  to  consist  of  nine  members. 

Third. — A  Committee  on  Finance,  to  consist 
of  five  members. 

Mr.  WFLCH.     I  move  to  amend  by  adding, 

Fourth. — A  Committee  on  the  State  Consti- 
tution, to  consist  of  five  members. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.     I  accept  the  amendment. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.     I   propose    to   amend  by 


adding,  "  a  Committee  on  Militia,  to  consist  of 
five  members." 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  1  will  state,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, that  in  drafting  that  resolution  it  did  not 
appear  to  me,  after  listening  to  the  message  of 
the  Governor,  that  there  was  really  any  neces- 
sity for  such  a  committee,  but,  of  course,  it  is 
perfectly  proper  to  appoint  such  a  committee, 
and  I  will  therefore  accept  the  amendment. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  desire  to  offer  another 
amendment.  Strike  out  the  words  "the  Con- 
vention," and  insert  "the  President."  The 
object  is  simply  this:  I  do  not  think  it  neces- 
sary that  the  Convention  should  go  into  the 
appointment  of  a  committee. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  HOWELL  offered  the  following  as  a  sub- 
stitute : 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be 
appointed,  to  take  into  consideration  and  report 
such  committees  as  are  necessary  for  the 
Convention. 

The  substitute*  was  disagreed  to. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  move  to  amend  by 
adding,  "and  Elective  Franchise,"  after  the 
word  "  Elections,"  in  the  original  resolution. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  offer  the  following,  as  a 
matter  of  information : 

Resolved,  That  the  Provisional  Government 
was  constituted  to  get  rid  of  traitors,  and  not 
to  discriminate  between  any  class  of  citizens, 
native  born  or  naturalized. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  resolution  is  notger- 
main  to  the  matter  under  consideration. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  will  withdraw  it  for  the 
present. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  supposed  that  the  Com- 
mittee on  Elections  would  embrace  the  subject 
of  Elective  Franchise,  but  if  there  is  any  doubt 
on  the  subject,  I  will  accept  the  amendment. 

The  resolution  as  amended  was  then  adopted. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ZIMMERMAN, the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  to  9  o'clock  A.  M.  to-morrow. 


SECOND   DAY. 


JEFFERSON  CITY,  Tuesday,  June  3. 
The  Convention  met  at  9  o'clock. 
Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 

A    SUGGESTION. 

Mr.  BROWN.  Before  we  proceed  to  the  reg- 
ular business  of  the  day,  I  would  like  to  make 
a  suggestion.  At  the  last  term  of  the  Conven- 


tion, we  appointed  a  door-keeper,  the  regularly 
elected  door-keeper  not  being  present.  The 
door-keeper  that  was  appointed  does  not  know 
whether  his  appointment  holds  over  or  not.  I 
have  no  doubt  it  is  the  desire  of  every  member 
of  the  Convention  that  there  should  be  unanim- 
ity of  feeling  and  action  among  us,  and  in  order 


13 


that  we  may  secure  it,  I  think  we  should  keep 
the  corners  well  rounded  up  as  we  proceed. 
I  saw  both  these  gentlemen  here  yesterday, 
both  of  them,  no  doubt,  competent  and  willing 
to  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  their  duties  as 
door-keeper.  I  do  not  consider  it  my  prerog- 
ative to  say  what  course  we  should  pursue  in 
settling  the  question,  but  I  think  I  have  a  right 
|o  suggest  that  the  thing  should  be  amicably 
settled,  and  that  these  men  should  know  which 
of  them  is  entitled  to  the  office.  I  was  not 
present  at  the  last  session,  and  I  feel  a  little 
like  as  if  I  was  on  probation  myself,  or  on 
ticklish  ground.  But  I  would  suggest  that 
some  gentleman  introduce  a  resolution  in  refer- 
ence to  this  matter,  before  we  proceed  further. 

ANNOUNCEMENT    OF    COMMITTEES. 

The  PRESIDENT  announced  the  following 
committees: 

Congressional  Districts. — Messrs.  Broad- 
head,  Rowland,  Doniphan,  Henderson,  Orr, 
Phillips,  Moss,  Woolfolk,  and  Bogy. 

Militia. — Messrs.  Stewart,  McClurg,  Jack- 
son, Leeper,  and  Jamison. 

Elections  and  Elective  Franchise. — Messrs. 
McFerran,  Hitchcock,  Howell,  Van  Buskirk, 
and  Rankin. 

State  Constitution.— Hall  of  Buchanan, 
Breckinridge,  Welch,  Moss,  and  Pomeroy. 

Finance. — Douglass,  Marvin,  Collyer,  Dunn, 
and  Zimmerman. 

RESOLUTIONS    AND    PETITIONS. 

Mr.  STEWAKT  offered  a  resolution,  that  all 
men,  whether  civilians  or  soldiers,  who  have 
been  found  in  arms  against  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  and  all  neutrals  who  have 
given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemy,  shall  here- 
after be  disqualified  to  vote. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Elections. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  I  have  a  petition  from  cit- 
izens of  Moniteau  county,  which  is  in  the 
district  I  have  the  honor  in  part  of  represent- 
ing. The  petition  is  from  the  citizens  of 
Moniteau  county  who  are  in  favor  of  disfran- 
chising for  the  next  twenty-one  years  all 
citizens  who  have  not  been  loyal  to  the  United 
States  Government.  In  presenting  this  peti- 
tion, it  is  proper  that  I  should  state  that  I  am 
personally  acquainted  with  most  of  the  gentle- 
men whose  names  are  signed  to  it.  I  know 
them  to  be  good  and  loyal  citizens,  of  respect- 
able standing  in  the  community,  and  although 
it  is  not  proper  that  I  should  now  offer  my  own 
views  on  the  subject,  or  as  to  what  should  be 
the  action  of  the  Convention,  yet,  deeming  that 


the  petition  is  at  least  entitled  to  a  respectful 
consideration,  I  move  its  reference  to  the  Com- 
inittee  on  Elections. 

The  PRESIDENT.     It  will  be  so  referred. 

Mr.  EITZEN  introduced  a  resolution  in  favor 
of  repealing  an  act  of  the  Legislature  concern- 
ing the  election  of  County  Court  Justices  for 
Gasconade  county.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Elections. 

Mr.  SCOTT  introduced  a  bill  providing  that 
before  any  person  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  at 
any  future  election  in  the  State,  he  shall  be  re- 
quired to  subscribe  to  an  oath  that  he  has  not 
taken  up  arms  against  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  or  this  State,  or  in  any  manner 
aided  or  abetted  the  enemies  of  his  country. 
The  oath  shall  be  administered  by  persons  pro- 
perly qualified,  and  any  failure  shall  be  pun- 
ishable with  a  fine  of  not  less  than  ten  dollars 
and  not  more  than  two  months'  imprisonment 
in  the  county  jail.  Referred  to  Committee  on 
Elections. 

Mr.  MCCORMACK  introduced  a  bill  providing 
that  the  soldiers  enlisted  in  compliance  with 
the  call  of  the  Governor  for  volunteers  in 
August  last  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  pay  for 
the  time  they  were  actually  in  service  in  the 
State.  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Miiitia. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  wish  to  offer  an  amend- 
ment to  the  ordinance  that  has  just  been  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Elections,  "and  all 
men  violating  said  oath  shall  be  shot  or  hung." 

Mr.  MEYER  offered  a  resolution  that  H.  C. 
Warmoth,  Doorkeeper  at  the  last  session  of 
the  Convention,  is  entitled  to  his  position. 
Adopted. 

Mr.  COMINGO  introduced  a  bill  providing 
that  hereafter  every  candidate  for  any  office 
in  the  gift  of  the  people  of  Missouri,  before 
his  name  shall  be  entered  upon  the  poll  books, 
shall  file  an  oath  to  the  effect  that  he  will  sup- 
port the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
this  State;  that  he  has  at  all  times  been  loyal 
and  true  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  he  will  not  take  up  arms 
against  the  Government  of  this  State  or  the 
United  States,  but  endeavor  to  uphold,  main- 
tain and  preserve  both  the  State  Government 
and  United  States  Government. 

Mr.  BROWN  offered  an  amendment  obligating 
the  candidate  to  loyalty  hereafter. 

Mr.  STEWART  moved  to  amend  by  inserting 
in  the  oath,  "  I  will  support  the  United  States 
flag  against  all  rebel  flags." 

The  subject  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Elections. 


14 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  SENATE. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  notice  that  nearly  all  pro- 
positions have  been  referred  to  the  various 
Committees,  thus  leaving  the  Convention  with- 
out any  work  to  do  until  these  committees  shall 
have  digested  the  various  subjects  which  have 
been  referred  to  them.  In  this  manner  several 
days  of  the  Convention  will,  in  all  likelihood, 
pass  away  before  any  definite  action  or  discus- 
sion can  be  had  upon  the  important  questions 
which,  in  all  probability,  will  be  brought  be- 
fore it.  I  have  an  amendment  which  I  propose 
to  offer  to  the  Constitution  of  the  State,  and  it 
is  an  amendment  which  embraces  but  one  soli- 
tary proposition,  not  requiring  at  all  the  inves- 
tigation of  any  committee;  and  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  the  Convention  something  to  do 
while  these  matters  are  in  the  hands  of  Com- 
mittees, I  propose  to  offer  this  amendment  to 
the  Constitution.  I  offer  it  for  action  now, 
not  because  it  is  essential  it  should  be  passed 
to-day  or  to-morrow,  but  it  is  a  proposition, 
sir,  which  is  so  simple  in  its  nature  as  not  to 
demand  the  assistance  of  any  committee.  I 
will  state  the  object  of  the  amendment,  the  ne- 
cessity of  which  no  one  in  this  Convention  will 
more  readily  appreciate  than  the  Hon.  Presi- 
dent. It  will  be  remembered  by  you  and  by 
myself,  who  were  members  of  the  General 
Assembly  at  the  period  to  which  I  refer — the 
session  of  December,  1858 — that  a  serious  and 
protracted  controversy  arose  in  the  Seriate  upon 
the  subject  of  the  classification  of  its  members. 
The  Constitution  of  the  State,  as  it  has  always 
stood,  provides  for  a  classification  of  members 
of  the  Senate,  so  that,  as  near  as  may  be,  that 
body  shall  be  divided  into  two  classes,  one-half 
of  whom  shall  go  out  at  the  end  of  every  two 
years.  The  object  of  that  provision,  I  sup- 
pose, was  that  at  least  one-half  of  the  members 
of  the  Senate  should  come  fresh  from  the  peo- 
ple at  every  session  of  the  Legislature.  But, 
sir,  it  so  happened  in  the  course  of  human 
events  that  when  the  General  Assembly  met  in 
December,  1860,  a  majority  of  that  body  was 
composed  of  new  members;  and  when  the  pro- 
position was  introduced  in  regard  to  these  new 
members  to  classify  them  into  two  year  and 
four  year  members,  and  the  new  members, 
having  a  majority  in  that  body,  refused  to  clas- 
sify and  to  carry  out  the  spirit  of  the  new  Con 
stitution  in  that  respect.  Your  Honor,  no 
doubt,  will  remember  the  exciting  controversy 
over  that  question  as  well  as  myself,  and  the 
difficulty  that  arose  from  the  want  of  a  simple 
provision  in  the  Constitution  which  I  believe 


is  attached  to  every  other  office  provided  for 
in  that  instrument  ;  that  is  the  provision  which 
declares  that  all  members  who  should  be  elect- 
ed to  fill  vacancies  should  serve  out  only  the 
unexpired  term.  But,  unfortunately,  in  con- 
nection with  the  Senate,  that  provision  does  not 
exist,  and  those  new  members  who  constituted 
a  majority  of  that  body  fell  back  upon  the 
general  provision  of  the  Constitution,  that  all 
Senators  should  be  elected  for  a  period  of  four 
years.  They  claimed  it  under  that  provision 
and  refused  to  classify.  I  now,  as  we  are  near 
the  August  election  and  we  are  to  have  an  en- 
tire new  Senate,  propose  to  introduce  that 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  which  shall  re- 
quire that  body  to  classify,  and  keep  properly 
classified,  in  order  that  one-half  of  that  body 
body  may  at  every  election  come  fresh  from 
the  people  and  represent  the  wants  of  the 
people.  The  object  of  the  amendment  is  not 
only  to  require  a  classification,  but  to  perpet- 
uate that  classification.  It  provides  that 
when  a  member  of  the  Senate  shall  be  elected 
to  fill  a  vacancy  he  shall  hold  his  office  during 
the  unexpired  term  of  the  person  whose  seat 
he  occupies  and  for  a  no  longer  time.  When 
that  provision  shall  be  incorporated  into  the 
Constitution,  the  scenes  which  we  witnessed 
in  the  Senate  in  1858  can  never  occur  again.  I 
presume  this  proposition  needs  no  investigation 
from  a  committee  to  determine  as  to  its  neces- 
sity. The  same  provision  exists  in  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States  with  regard  to  the 
Federal  Senate.  That  body  has  always  classi- 
fied ever  since  its  organization.  I,  therefore, 
submit  this  ordinance  and  ask  the  attention  of 
the  Convention  to  it,  as  we  seem  to  have 
nothing  else  to  do. 

The  ordinance  was  then  read  by  the  clerk 
On  motion  of  Mr.  Ho  WELL,  the  ordinance 
was  referred  to   the  Committee  on  Constitu- 
tion. 

RESOLUTIONS. 

Mr.  ZIMMERMAN  offered  a  resolution  that,  if 
the  Committee  on  Elective  Franchise  see  proper 
to  report  a  bill  disfranchising  Southern  sym- 
pathisers, they  also  report  a  bill  disfranchising 
Abolitionists.  In  offering  the  resolution  he 
said  :  I  offer  that  resolution  in  my  own  defense 
and  in  defense  of  my  own  constituents.  Should 
entlemen  of  Southern  feelings  be  disfranchised 
and  Abolitionists  be  permitted  to  vote,  I  fear 
that  the  Abolitionists  elected  to  the  Legislature 
might  pass  an  act  to  deprive  us  of  our  slaves. 
I  own  a  few  slaves  and  I  do  not  want  them 
forced  out  of  my  possession. 


15 


The  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Elections. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS  offered  a  resolution  that  here- 
after, in  all  elections  in  this  State,  the  vote 
shall  be  taken  by  ballot.  Referred  to  Com- 
mittee on  Elections. 

Mr.  WELCH  introduced  a  bill  for  the  collec- 
tion of  the  revenue,  which  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Revenue. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ROWLAND,  the  Conven- 
tion then  adjourned  till  2  P.  M. 

AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  at  2  P.  M. 

Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis  offered  a  resolution 
that  the  Committee  on  Elections  be  instructed 
to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  postponing 
the  election  of  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor 
and  Secretary  of  State,  until  the  regular  time 
prescribed  by  the  Constitution  for  the  election 
of  such  officers.  Referred  to  Committee  on 
Elections. 

On  motion,  Messrs.  BUSCH  and  MEYER  were 
added  to  the  Committee  on  Finance,  and  Mr. 
MCFERRAN  to  the  Committee  on  Militia. 

Mr.  GRAVELLY  offered  a  resolution  that  the 
Committee  on  Elections  inquire  into  the  expe- 
diency of  permitting  officers  and  soldiers  in  the 
United  States  service  who,  at  the  time  of  enter- 
ing were  citizens  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  to 
vote  in  their  respective  camps  for  candidates 
for  the  different  offices  that  may  have  to  be 
filled  during  the  time  such  officers  and  soldiers 
remain  in  service.  Referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Elections. 

Mr.  BROWN  offered  a  resolution  in  favor  of 
releasing  the  citizens  of  the  Kansas  border 
counties  from  the  payment  of  their  taxes  for 
1861  and  1862. 

In  offering  the  resolution  Mr.  BROWN  said  : 
I  have  the  honor  to  represent  some  of  these 
Border  counties.  We  have  had  little  else  than 
war  since  the  unfortunate  troubles  of  1856. 
Our  people  have  become  tired  of  war  and  they 
desire  peace.  They  desired  it  long  since  in- 
side the  Union  and  under  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution. As  an  evidence  of  that  fact,  there  was 
a  majority  at  the  last  spring  election  of  consi- 
derably over  SjOOO  votes  cast  on  the  Union 
ticket  for  a  Delegate  to  the  State  Convention, 
and  I  feel  well  assured  in  saying  that  I  do  not 
believe  200  men  now  remain  out  of  7,000  voters 
who  have  rot  been  robbed  of  almost  every  ves- 
tige of  property  that  they  owned.  They  have 
been  robbed  of  negroes,  wagons,  horses,  cattle, 


the  last  milch  cow,  the  last  bed,  the  last  par- 
ticle of  clothing,  and  some  of  their  families  are 
entirely  destitute  and  in  a  suffering  condition  5 
and  I  am  satisfied  that  if  it  is  in  the  power  of 
this  Convention  to  relieve  them  they  ought  to 
do  it,  and  I  have  no  doubt  the  members  will.  I 
have  introduced  the  resolution  in  order  to  bring 
that  thing  about. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  COMINGO,  the  resolution 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 

THE    DECEASE    OF   MR.    TINDALL. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK  offered  the  following  reso- 
lutions in  reference  to  the  death  of  Colonel 
Tindall : 

WHEREAS,  The  calamities  of  war  have  de- 
prived this  Convention  and  the  country  of  the 
services  on  this  floor  of  Colonel  Jacob  T.  Tin- 
dall, who  fell  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  on 
Sunday,  the  6th  day  of  April,  1862,  on  the  bat- 
tle-field of  Shiloh ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Col.  Tindall 
this  Convention  has  lost  a  valued  member, 
whose  intellect  and  energy,  patriotism  and  con- 
servative views  rendered  him  an  able  and  effi- 
cient member  of  this  body.  That  by  his  un- 
timely fall  the  nation  has  lost  a  devoted  patriot 
in  the  hour  of  her  peril,  the  army  a  prudent 
commander,  the  society  in  which  he  moved  an 
ornament,  and  his  family  an  affectionate  hus- 
band and  father. 

Resolved,  That  in  testimony  of  our  apprecia- 
tion of  the  deceased,  and  from  due  regard  to 
his  memory,  this  Convention  will  now  adjourn 
until  to-morrow  morning  at  9  o'clock,  and  that 
the  members  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourn- 
ing during  the  present  session. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  the  condolence  of 
the  members  of  this  body  to  the  family  and 
immediate  friends  of  Colonel  Tindall  in  their 
sad  bereavement;  that  these  resolutions  be 
spread  upon  the  Journal  of  this  Convention, 
and  that  a  copy  thereof  be  prepared  by  the 
Secretary  and  forwarded  to  Mrs.  Emeline  Tin- 
dall, the  wife  of  the  deceased. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  It  has  become  my  sad  and 
unexpected  duty  to  present  these  resolutions 
[published  in  yesterday's  report,]  upon  this 
floor.  I  deem  them  only  a  proper  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  one  of  this  body  who  has  gone 
from  our  midst — who  has  fallen  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duty  as  a  patriot  and  a  soldier. 

The  deceased  united  in  himself  many  of  those 
qualities  which  win  our  admiration  and  love. 
He  was  sincere,  honest,  generous,  and  full  of 
that  noble  modesty  which,  united  to  proper 


16 


self-respect,  lends  such  a  charm  to  merit.  Born 
in  Kentucky,  in  1825,  his  parents  removed  to 
Howard  county,  Missouri,  during  his  early 
youth,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Grundy 
county  when  he  had  reached  about  the  age  of 
eighteen  years.  As  a  youth  he  was  much  loved 
in  the  county  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  quiet, 
unassuming  and  diligent  in  the  prosecution  of 
all  his  studies. 

When  the  Mexican  war  broke  out  he  at  once 
enlisted  and  served  with  honor  in  the  position 
of  Sergeant-Major  and  acting  Adjutant  of  his 
regiment.  When  the  war  was  over  he  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  in  his  own  county 
of  Grundy,  and  soon  won  for  himself  a  proud 
name  in  his  own  and  adjoining  counties.  His 
integrity,  his  close  application  to  business,  and 
his  fine  discriminating  intellect,  made  him  one 
of  the  most  successful  advocates  in  the  Grand 
River  Valley.  The  masses  possessed  entire 
confidence  in  his  honesty,  and  this  fact  gave 
him  a  power  before  juries  which  few  others 
possessed.  He  had  for  several  years  prior  to 
our  national  difficulties  stood  at  the  head  of 
his  profession  in  the  Grand  River  Valley.  At 
the  very  commencement  of  this  revolution  he 
took  a  bold  stand  in  favor  of  the  Union,  and 
when  the  Convention  was  called  he  was  select- 
ed by  an  overwhelming  majority  to  this  body. 
When  Sumter  fell  and  the  American  nation 
was  called  to  arms,  he  was  among  the  first  to 
rally  at  the  call  of  his  country. 

I  well  remember  an  evening  passed  with  him 
about  this  period.  It  was  just  after  the  Camp 
Jackson  affair.  The  military  bill  had  been 
passed  and  Union  men  were  falling  away  by 
hundreds.  Everywhere  in  the  Slate  confusion 
was  reigning.  False  reports  as  to  the  policy 
of  the  Government  were  flying  over  the  coun- 
try. No  Union  man  felt  secure.  The  iron 
hand  of  rebellion  was  upon  us  $  and  a  rebel 
government  had  been  erected  in  out-  very  midst. 
I  was  gloomy — almost  despondent.  In  my 
own  city  of  Chilicothe  two-thirds  of  the  citi- 
zens had  suddenly  become  avowed  secession- 
ists, and  the  remaining  one-third,  with  but  few 
exceptions,  occupied  ambiguous  positions. 
Tindall  came  to  our  city  just  at  this  period,  on 
his  way  to  St.  Joseph.  He  came  to  my  office 
and  announced  that  the  time  had  come  when 
we  must  fight  on  one  side  or  the  other.  The 
Union  men  must  abandon  their  principles  arid 
enlist  under  the  military  bill,  as  passed  by  the 
Legislature,  or  they  must  organize  to  resist  it. 
Brigadier  General  Slack  had  just  offered  him 
the  place  of  Brigade  Inspector,  with  the  proviso 


that  if  he  did  not  like  this  place  he  should  have 
any  other  he  desired.  But  Tindall,  true  to  his 
principles,  unhesitatingly  refused  his  offers. 
"I  have  made  up  my  mind,"  said  he  to  me, 
"to  resist  this  military  bill,  and  battle  on  the 
side  of  my  Government,  but  I  dislike  to  be 
alone  in  my  opposition.  I  am  going  to  St. 
Joseph  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  if  the  Union 
men  there  and  elsewhere  will  act  with  me  in 
my  resistance  to  treason."  I  admired  his 
bold,  decisive  conduct.  I  felt  that  nature  had 
desUned  him  for  a  leader,  and  I  unhesitatingly 
pledged  him  my  support,  even  if  I  should  stand 
alone. 

After  raising  his  regiment,  he  was  for  several 
months  stationed  in  the  city  of  Chilicothe,  and 
his  conservative  course  had  a  great  influence 
towards  restoring  peace  to  that  distracted  sec- 
tion. The  ultras  who  desire  to  use  the  strong 
arm  of  military  power  for  the  purpose  of 
gratifying  revengeful  passions,  found  in  him  no 
friend,  and  he  pursued  unwaveringly  the  path 
of  conservatism,  regardless  of  the  clamor  of 
men  who  called  for  acts  of  violence  and  wrong. 
The  ultras  for  a  time  endeavored  to  weaken 
his  influence  by  charges  that  he  was  courting 
favor  with  the  secessionists,  and  I  shall  never 
forget  his  noble  reply  when  he  heard  these 
charges.  "They  may  call  me  what  they 
please,  but  they  shall  not  induce  me  to  do 
what  I  believe  to  be  wrong."  He  was  loved 
by  all  good  men,  regardless  of  party;  all  felt 
secure  under  his  authority,  so  long  as  they 
respected  the  Constitution  and  the  laws.  And 
when  his  bleeding  remains  were  borne  from 
the  battle  field  of  Shiloh,  good  men  of  all 
parties  followed  him  weeping  to  his  grave. 
He  was  one  of  those  noble  men  whom  we  often 
meet  during  these  struggles,  and  whom  I 
always  admire.  Born  in  the  South,  he  was 
not  a  Union  man  from  any  hostility  to  slavery, 
or  from  any  sympathy  with  Northern  States 
in  opposition  to  Southern  States.  He  was  a 
Union  man  from  principle  and  patriotism.  He 
abandoned  his  section  for  the  sake  of  his  coun- 
try j  but  by  his  country  he  meant  his  whole 
country — not  the  Northern  half  of  it — and  he 
loved  it  all,  from  ocean  to  ocean  and  the  lakes 
to  the  gulf. 

He  has  given  the  noblest  proof  of  his  patriot- 
ism, for  he  has  made  the  last  only  sacrifice  a 
patriot  can  make  for  his  country.  He  led  his 
gallant  regiment  upon  the  bloody  field  of  Shiloh, 
and,  belonging  to  Prentiss'  Brigade,  they  stood 
the  first  shock  of  battle.  During  the  entire 
day  of  the  6th  of  April,  the  gallant  men  of  the 


17 


Twenty-third  Missouri  were  in  the  thickest  of 
the  fight  and  nobly  stood  their  ground  against 
superior  odds.  About  four  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  Tindall  fell,  at  the  head  of  his  regi- 
ment. I  mourn  his  loss,  but  I  could  not  ask 
for  him  a  nobler  fate. 

"  Dulce  et  decorum,  pro  patria  mori." 

If  there  was  a  spot  upon  this  green  earth 
where  the  patriot  should  desire  to  breathe  out 
his  spirit,  that  spot  should  be  tho  battle  field 
of  Shiloh.  It  will  live  in  history  as  one  of 
those  fields 

"  Where  life  is  lost,  or  freedom  won  ; " 

and  around  it  will  cluster  those  imperishable 
memories  that  gather  about  such  names  as 
Bunker  Hill,  Thermopylse,  and  Marathon. 
Life  is  nothing  ;  it  is  the  manner  we  spend  that 
life.  The  patriot  never  dies  to  soon  who  falls 
in  defense  of  his  country ;  but  lives  too  long, 
if  he  survive  to  wander  amid  its  ruins.  No  ;  I 
could  ask  no  nobler  fate  for  the  lamented  dead  ! 
He  knew  no  feeble  sunset  j  10  slow  wasting 
away  of  life;  no  emaciated  form;  no  dismal 
chamber  of  disease;  but  he  fell  at  once  in  the 
pride  of  his  strength,  like  some  green  oak 
shivered  by  the  lightning's  touch.  He  sunk 
upon  the  tented  field,  with  the  blue  sky  above 
him  and  the  starry  banner  for  his  winding 
sheet ;  and  his  gallant  spirit  mounted  aloft 
from  a  death-bed  of  fume,  as  the  freed  moun- 
tain bird  soars  to  its  eyrie.  He  has  gone,  but 
gone  in  glory.  With  us  remains  the  dirge — 
with  him  has  ascended  the  paean  of  triumph. 
He  fell  in  the  vigor  of  life,  in  the  noon  of  his 
fame — just  as  he  saw  the  star  of  his  destiny 
dawning  brightly  from  the  sky  of  fate.  His 
last  words  that  were  heard  ringing  along  the 
burning  lines  of  battle,  were  words  cheering 
on  his  men  to  the  conflict.  He  fell  as  a  patriot 
and  a  hero  would  desire  to  fall — at  the  head  of 
his  regiment,  with  the  mighty  hosts  of  freedom 
battling  around  him,  the  banner  of  his  country 
over  him,  and  the  wild  thunders  of  battle  ring- 
ing upon  his  dying  ear. 

The  remains  of  the  lamented  Tindall  have 
been  removed  to  his  home,  near  Trenton,  in 
Grundy  county,  Missouri ;  and  there  he  reposes 
amid  the  scenes  of  his  early  labors  and  tri- 
umphs. He  sleeps  in  the  quiet  village  church- 
yard, away  from  the  busy  hum  of  life — far 
away  from  the  thunder  of  conflict,  and  no 
darion  note  will  ever  more  disturb  his  slumbers 
or  call  him  forth  to  battle.  Let  us  hope  that. 
«  after  life's  fitful  fever,  he  sleeps  well."  No 
proud  mausoleum  marks  his  resting  place,  and 

2 


he  needs  none.  His  noblest  monument  has 
already  been  erected  in  the  hearts  of  his  fellow 
citizens.  His  lonely  grave  will  long  be  treas- 
ured in  their  memories,  and  will  be  a  sacred 
shrine  to  which  votaries  will  often  wander. 
Peace  to  his  ashes.  May  the  undying  laurel 
of  glory  grow  green  over  his  grave. 

When  I  remember,  sir,  all  the  gallant  dead 
that  have  fallen  in  this  war,  I  feel  that  this 
Government  should  be  preserved  in  justice  to 
their  sacrifices,  if  from  no  other  motive.  We 
cannot  abandon  this  struggle — we  cannot  sub- 
mit to  a  division  of  this  Union  without  a 
wrong,  a  deep  and  burning  wrong,  to  the  noble 
men  who  have  saciificed  their  lives  to  preserve 
the  integrity  of  this  Government.  Shall  they 
fall  in  vain?  No,  sir;  it  must  not  be!  Let 
us  swear  by  our  gallant  dead  that  we  will  pre- 
serve this  temple  of  liberty  as  our  fathers 
made  it ;  or,  if  all  is  vain,  that  we  will  clasp  its 
crumbling  columns  and  perish  amid  the  wreck. 

Mr.  President,  the  traveller  through  the 
Grand  river  valley  is  struck  with  its  desolate 
appearance.  The  country  looks  dreary  and 
deserted.  The  farm  houses  are  often  emp',y; 
the  villages  are  destitute  cf  their  teeming  pop- 
ulation, and  that  once  beautiful  and  populous 
region  is  almost  as  lonely  as  the  grave.  Where, 
sir,  have  the  gallant  men  of  that  region  gone? 
Go  to  your  armies  of  the  Union,  and  you  will 
find  them  there.  When  Tindall  raised  his 
regiment,  the  gallant  men  of  Grundy,  Harrison, 
Linn,  Sullivan,  Putnam,  Mercer.  Daviess,  and 
Livingston,  rallied  at  once  to  his  standard. 
They  flocked  to  the  banner  of  their  country, 
abandoning  their  farms  in  secession  neighbor- 
hoods, and  leaving  their  property  at  the  mercy 
of  jayhawkers.  When  the  Eighteenth  and 
Twenty-fifth  regiments  were  raised,  the  same 
counties  poured  out  their  loyal  hundreds,  and 
soon  filled  them  to  the  maximum.  When  the 
State  militia  were  called  for,  the  young  men  of 
these  counties  were  almost  all  in  the  field;  but, 
trus  to  their  patriotic  impulses,  the  old  men 
turned  out  and  at  once  filled  the  First  and 
Third  regiments  of  Missouri  cavalry. 

Sir,  the  gallant  men  of  this  section  need  no 
eulogy  from  me.  The  bones  of  their  heroic 
dead  are  bleaching  upon  every  battle-field  of 
the  West.  Tindall,  one  of  their  Colonels, 
sleeps  in  the  village  churchyard  in  Grundy 
county,  Missouri.  Peabody,  the  Colonel  of 
the  Twenty-fifth  regiment,  reposes  amid  the 
green  hills  of  his  New  England  home.  The 
Colonel  of  the  Eighteenth  regiment,  and 
McCullough,  the  gallant  Major  of  the  Twenty- 


18 


third,  together  with  many  of  their  brave  officecs 
and  men,  are  now  incarcerated  in  Southern 
prisons,  because  too  fearless  to  turn  their  backs 
upon  the  foe  when  deserted  by  other  regiments 
who  should  have  stood  with  them  in  the  hour 
of  danger.  But  many,  very  many,  of  these 
gallant  men  have  left  their  bones  to  bleach  upon 
the  plains  of  Shiloh.  While  other  States  have 
recorded  the  valor  of  their  slain,  these  noble 
men  have  gone  down  to  the  grave  without  an 
epitaph.  No  marble  monuments  are  over  them 
— -no  trump  of  fame  breathed  its  elegiac  tones 
over  their  graves,  but  they  sleep  amid  the  wild 
scenery  of  Tennessee,  far  from  their  loved  ones, 
and  in  a  foeman's  land,  with  no  kindly  hand  to 
scatter  the  flowers  of  affection  upon  their  tombs, 
and  with  only  the  whistling  winds  and  the 
chirping  wild  birds  to  chaunt  their  mournful 
requium.  But  let  them  sleep  on.  They  could 
find  no  nobler  bed  than  the  field  of  their  fame, 
for  it  will  be  hallowed  by  a  nation's  gratitude 
and  a  nation's  tears. 

Mr.  SHANKLIN.  Mr.  President:  I  am  im- 
pelled by  a  sense  of  duty,  upon  this  occasion 
to  give  to  this  Convention,  and  to  the  country, 
my  testimony  of  the  personal  worth  of  the 
lamented  Colonel  Jacob  T.  Tindall,  late  a 
member  of  this  body,  and  whose  loss  to  this 
council  and  to  the  State,  we  to-day  deplore. 

This  duty,  though  it  forces  upon  my  mind 
melancholy  reflections  of  the  sad  fate  of  the 
deceased,  and  of  the  sorrows  and  irreparable 
loss  to  that  portion  of  the  State  which  he,  in 
part,  so  ably  represented  on  this  floor,  is  never- 
theless rendered  comparatively  agreeable  and 
pleasant  by  the  reflection  that  I  but  contribute 
to  the  memory  of  one  who  was  in  every  respect 
worthy,  and  who,  in  that  portion  of  country 
where  he  was  best  known,  was  the  people's 
favorite.;  and  that  whatever  eulogium  I  may 
feel  inclined  to  indulge  in  upon  this  occasion, 
will  meet  with  a  hearty  response  from  all  those 
who  knew  him  well. 

For  the  last  fifteen  years,  my  relations  with 
the  deceased  were  of  the  most  intimate  char- 
acter, and  for  the  last  seven  years  of  that  time 
we  were  partners  in  the  practice  of  the  law, 
as  well  as  our  general  business .;  and  being  thus 
devoted  in  friendship  ami  allied  in  interest,  I 
think  I  may  safely  claim  that  I  knew  him  better 
than  any  one  else.  We  have  often  burned  the 
midnight  oil  together,  prying  into  the  intri- 
cacies of  the  law,  or  poring  over  the  musty 
records  of  some  entangled  business  transaction 
which  we  had  been  engaged  to  straighten.  To 
him,  more  than  to  any  other,  am  I  indebted  for 


the  little  success  which  I  have  so  far  had  in 
this  country.  >Tis  true,  I  claim  to  have  accom- 
plished what  I  have  done  by  my  own  exertions, 
but  I  take  pleasure  in  acknowledging  here 
that  I  am  largely  indebted  to  the  facilities 
which  my  connection  with  him  afforded  in  the 
labors  which,  from  time  to  time,  I  have  under- 
taken and  accomplished.  I  might  say,  with 
propriety,  that  to  him,  even  more  than  to 
books,  am  I  indebted  for  the  little  legal  know- 
ledge which  I  have  acquired.  He  loved  to 
converse  upon  intricate  and  nice  points  of  law, 
and  always,  in  studying  his  cases,  he  would 
seek  the  opportunity  of  conversing  with  some 
one,  with  the  view  (as  he  often  expressed  it) 
of  "rubbing  off  the  rust,  and  brightening  up  his 
ideas'*  upon  the  points  which  he  had  been  re- 
viewing. While  to  him,  personally,  I  can  now 
make  no  recompense  for  his  kindness  towards 
me,  I  can  still  contribute  to  his  memory  my 
testimony  of  his  many  noble  qualities,  and  of 
his  great  personal  worth.  During  the  long 
period  of  our  intimacy,  our  relations  were 
never  disturbed,  and  I  never  for  a  moment  had 
occasion  to  doubt  the  purity  of  his  private  life. 
He  was  high-minded  to  a  fault — stern  and  in- 
flexible in  his  demeanor,  yet  social  and  com- 
panionable to  all  who  were  thrown  in  his  way. 
His  idols  were  his  family  and  his  books.  The 
former  he  loved  with  a  devotion  worthy  of  all 
imitation — the  latter  were  his  boast,  his  pride, 
and  the  solace  of  his  leisure  hours.  He  was  a 
man  of  enlarged  and  liberal  views  of  public 
policy — a  devoted  patriot  and  friend  to  his 
country — a  faiihful  and  energetic  public  ser- 
vant, yet  it  was  in  the  purity  of  his  private 
life  that  his  rare  excellence  presented  itself  in 
its  most  vivid  colors  to  his  intimate  friends. 

Colonel  Tindall  was  a  Kentuckian  by  birth. 
His  boyhood  was  spent  in  Howard  county, 
Missouri,  from  which  place  he  removed  with 
his  parents  to  Grundy  county  while  the  Grand 
river  country  was  yet  a  wilderness,  and  he  a 
mere  youth  of  some  eighteen  years  of  age. 
With  but  few  of  those  advantages  so  essential 
to  enable  young  men  of  genius  to  qualify 
themselves  for  a  brilliant  career,  he  com- 
menced life  for  himself  at  that  early  age,  and 
adopting  teaching  for  a  support,  he  devoted 
himself,  during  the  leisure  hours  which  that 
profession  affords,  to  the  study  of  the  law.  In 
1847  we  enlisted  together  for  "  during  the  war/? 
and  continued  in  service  in  the  "Indian  Bat- 
talion Missouri  Volunteers,"  commanded  by 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Gilpin,  until  the  close  of 
the  campaign  on  the  frontiers  of  Northern 


19 


Mexico,  in  the  fall  of  1848.  During  that  cam- 
paign, the  then  young  and  ardent  Tindall  held 
a  responsible  position  in  the  service,  being  the 
constant  companion  and  having  the  unlimited 
confidence  of  the  commanding  officer.  Soon 
after  his  return  home  in  the  fall  of  1848,  Mr. 
Tindall  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  soon  took 
rank  with  the  foremost  practitioners  in  the 
Grand  river  country.  His  constant  flow  of 
humor  and  sparkling  wit  will  long  be  remem- 
bered by  all  those  of  the  profession  who,  from 
that  time  until  the  present,  have  traveled  around 
the  circuits  in  the  Grand  river  country.  That 
he  was  a  close  thinker  and  accurate  pleader, 
and  a  man  of  fine  energy  in  his  profession, 
those  of  the  profession  who  have  practiced 
with  him,  as  well  as  the  records  of  the  various 
courts  which  he  attended,  will  fully  attest. 

Called  to  the  councils  of  the  State  when  bare- 
ly of  the  constitutional  age,  Col.  Tindall  serv- 
ed one  session  in  the  Missouri  Legislature  with 
distinction,  but  afterwards  engaged  but  little  in 
politics  until  the  late  Presidential  canvass.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  present  deplorable 
troubles  in  our  State  and  Nation,  he  took  strong 
yet  conservative  grounds  in  favor  of  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  Union  as  our  fathers  made  it; 
and  to  his  influence  more,  perhaps,  than  to  that 
of  any  other  are  we  indebted  for  the  over- 
whelming Union  sentiment  in  the  Grand  River 
country.  I  knew  his  sentiments  well,  and  I 
bear  willing  testimony  to  his  unswerving  loy- 
alty from  the  commencement  of  our  complica- 
tions. Elected  to  a  seat  on  this  floor  by  a  large 
majority,  Mr.  Tindall  proved,  as  you  will  all 
testify,  to  be  one  of  your  working  members, 
and  the  influence  of  his  labors  here  in  favor  of 
the  rich  heritage  bequeathed  to  us  by  our  pat- 
riot sires — the  Constitution  of  the  country  and 
the  Union  of  the  States — will  long  be  remem- 
bered throughout  the  State. 

While  there  was  the  least  hope  of  a  peaceful 
adjustment  of  our  complications,  Mr.  Tindall 
was  in  favor  of  such  adjustment;  but  when  all 
hope  of  a  settlement  other  than  by  the  arbitra- 
ment of  arms  was  lost — when  the  "  fl^g  of  our 
country"  had  been  insulted  and  made  to  trail  in 
the  dust  by  traitors  to  a  common  heritage — 
when  our  own  beloved  Missouri  was  being  led  ' 
with  bold  defiance  into  the  vortex  of  rebellion 
by  traitors  in  high  places,  who  had  been  select- 
ed by  the  people  as  the  guardians  of  their  in- 
terest?, but  who,  by  perjury  and  corruption, 
had  bartered  the  sacred  soil  which  they  had 
been  selected  to  honor,  protect  and  defend,  to 
the  enemies  of  the  Government  of  our  fathers, 


to  be  used  as  a  battle-field  to  shield  their  own 
polluted  soil  from  dire  calamities  of  war — then 
it  was  that  the  lamented  Tindall  entered  the 
service  of  his  country,  determined  to  do  his 
duty  in  the  defense  of  her  flag  and  of  her  cher- 
ished institutions,  and  as  the  gallant  comman- 
der of  the  twenty-third  regiment  of  Missouri 
volunteers.  For  his  administrative  abilities  and 
conservative  policy,  as  the  commandant  at  the 
post  of  Chilicothe  during  the  past  winter,  his 
services  will  long  be  cherished  in  North  Mis- 
souri. Upon  the  opening  of  spring,  Col.  Tin- 
dall was  ordered  with  his  regiment  to  the  field 
of  active  military  operations,  and  the  morning 
of  the  6th  of  April,  1862,  found  his  regiment 
encamped  on  the  turbulent  Tennessee,  at  the 
Pittsburgh  Landing.  Soon,  the  dread  roar  of 
artillery  was  heard  in  the  distance.  The  mor- 
tal combat  had  commenced — kindred  of  a  com- 
mon ancestry,  led  by  heroic  chieftains,  had  met 
in  mortal  conflict,  and  the  plains  of  Shiloh  were 
fast  drinking  up  the  life-blood  of  those  who 
were  born  of  a  common  parentage,  and  were 
destined  by  the  God  of  Nature  to  share  a  com- 
mon heritage.  The  noble  twenty-third  was 
soon  ordered  to  the  field  of  carnage  and  blood, 
and  I  learn  with  pleasure,  from  an  eye-witnes^, 
that  not  one  faltered  in  the  least.  This  regi- 
ment was  soon  posted  in  the  "thickest  of  the 
fight,"  arid  led  by  its  heroic  Colonel,  it  there 
sustained  the  honors  of  the  State,  for  hours, 
against  overwhelming  odds.  The  gallant  Tin- 
dall, at  the  head  of  this  noble  band  of  Grand 
River  boys,  sustained  himself,  for  hours,  with 
that  coolness  and  intrepidity  which  challenges 
the  "  veteran  upon  the  field."  He  continued 
at  his  post  until  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
when  the  leaden  messenger,  sent  with  the  ra- 
pidity of  lightning  and  fearful  aim,  pierced  his 
heart,  and  soon  the  beloved  Tindall  was  num- 
bered among  the  slain  on  the  fatal  field  of  Shi- 
loh. His  remains  were  found  upon  the  field  by 
his  friend  and  late  Adjutant,  Lieutenant  Ste- 
phen Perry,  who  kindly  conveyed  them  to  his 
home  in  Trenton,  and  there,  in  the  "  silent  city 
of  the  dead"  of  that  quiet  village,  amid  the 
ashes  of  his  parents  and  kindred,  now  lies  en- 
tombed the  lifeless  body  of  the  once  heroic 
Tindall  —  "my  brave  companion  —  my  noble 
friend." 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  cannot  forego  the  oppor- 
tunity that  is  presented,  briefly  to  commemo- 
rate the  virtues,  the  integrity,  the  honesty,  and 
the  loyalty  of  him  whose  loss  we  now  mourn. 
During  the  time  I  have  been  a  citizen  of  Mis- 
souri—  since  1845,  I  believe  —  I  have  known 


20 


Col.  Tindall,  most  of  the  time  intimately.  H( 
was  a  particular  friend  of  mine,  from  the  fac 
that  he  was  loyal.  He  was  ever  true  to  the 
Constitution  and  the  Union.  It  made  no  dif 
ference  to  him  whether  a  man  came  from  Ken 
tucky,  New  York,  or  South  Carolina.  He  wa: 
that  man's  friend  so  long  as  he  did  not  dishonoi 
the  flag  which  protected  him.  Sir,  he  entered 
into  this  war  because  he  was  a  patriot.  He  did 
not  enter  it  from  selfish  motives,  or  from  the 
belief  that  political  capital  could  be  made  by 
so  doing.  He  offered  up  his  life  in  behalf  o 
his  country  because  he  was  actuated  simply  anc 
solely  by  feelings  of  loyalty  and  of  patriotism 
to  that  Government.  Sir,  the  memory  of  such 
a  man  deserves  to  be  honored.  Let  us,  there- 
fore, while  we  cherish  his  memory,  endeavor 
to  imitate  his  example,  and,  as  far  as  may  be 
walk  in  his  footsteps. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  It  was  eminently  pro- 
per, sir,  that  the  first  words  of  sorrow  spoker 
in  this  hall  because  of  the  death  of  this  good 
man,  should  come  from  those  who  knew  him 
long  and  well  before  we,  who  were  his  associ- 
ates in  this  body,  knew  him.  It  was  eminent- 
ly proper,  sir,  that  the  first  words  of  sorrow 
should  be  spoken,  also,  by  those  who  were  his 
colleagues,  and  who  owed  it  as  a  duty  to  them- 
selves, as  well  as  to  the  good  people  of  this 
Commonwealth  whom  they  represent  upon  this 
floor,  more  than  to  his  memory — for  that  speaks 
for  itself  and  justifies  itself — to  speak  the  words 
that  have  been  spoken.  But  I  am  not  willing 
that  to  them  alone  shall  be  given  the  privilege 
of  saying  kind  words  of  such  a  man  ;  nor  am  I 
willing  that  those  good  people,  whom  I  have  the 
honor  in  part  to  speak  f o .-,  should  be  silent  in 
view  of  what  I  deem,  and  what  I  know  they 
deem,  so  great  and  real  a  cause  of  sorrow. 

It  was  not  my  privilege,  Mr.  President,  to 
know  Col.  Tindall  until  I  met  him  here  as  a 
member  of  this  body,  and  though  his  name  had 
reached  me  as  the  names  of  others  had,  no 
public  circumstances  had  so  directed  my  atten- 
tion to  him  as  to  give  me  occasion  to  know  his 
many  and  great  virtues.  When  I  first  saw  him, 
I  was  drawn  instantly  to  him  by  his  frank  man- 
ner, by  his  manly  character,  and  by  the  constant 
proofs  of  his  clear  and  wise  thought,  and  cool, 
calm  courage  ;  and  it  was  not  long  until  I  saw 
that  there,  indeed,  was  a  man  who,  while  he 
would  certainly  always  discharge  with  fidelity 
his  public  duties,  however  responsible,  would 
never  fail  to  adhere  to  the  right ;  that  he  was 
one  of  that  rare  class  whom  wise  men  seek  to 
bind  to  them  with  hooks  of  steel. 


He  was  kind  enough,  I  am  glad  to  say,  to  ad- 
mit me  to  his  confidence  and  friendship,  and  I 
can  truly  say,  in  view  of  the  trying  responsi- 
bilities and  arduous  duties  through  which  the 
members  of  this  body  have  passed  ;  through  all 
the  conferences  in  which  it  was  my  privilege 
to  meet  him — at  all  times  when  I  sought  his 
counsel  and  that  of  other  wise  men — I  never 
knew  him  falter,  doubt  or  hesitate  a  moment 
except  in  the  earnest  anxiety  with  which  he 
sought  to  know  a  patriot's  path  of  duty.  Hav- 
ing found  that,  it  seemed  his  only  desire  calm- 
ly, courageously  and  constantly  to  walk  in  it. 
And  so,  sir,  I  knew  that  when  we  heard  from 
that  great  battle-field,  in  which  he  led  a  band 
of  brave  men,  distinguished  among  a  multitude 
of  heroes — steadily  advancing  against  the  ene- 
mies of  his  country,  to  assert  his  and  our 
rights — we  would  hear  the  intelligence  of  no- 
ble deeds  well  done ;  and  when  the  sad  news 
came  with  the  lightning's  flash  that  he  was 
dead,  it  was  not  necessary  to  inquire  how  he 
died,  for  I  knew  that  he  died  nobly.  We  in- ' 
dulge  too  often  in  indiscriminate  and  fulsome 
eulogy  of  the  dead — and,  indeed,  it  is  a  natural 
and  a  generous  error  —  but  when  such  a  man 
dies,  leaving  the  fruits  of  such  a  life  as  he  led, 
even  if  we  consider  only  the  last  few  months  of 
it,  the  truth,  which  is  his  best  eulogy,  should  be 
spoken  ;  we  should  treasure  his  memory,  not 
only  as  a  jewel  of  friendship,  but  as  one  of  the 
priceless  things  belonging  to  the  commonwealth 
itself,  rich  in  its  example  to  all  her  sons. 

It  seems  to  me,  that  now  and  here  I  hear  his 
noble  voice  rising  in  exhortation  to  those  brave 
men  in  arms  who  followed  him  upon  the  battle- 
field his  blood  enriched  ;  and  to  those  also  who 
pursue  that  noble  calling,  and  are  here  in  their 
seats  upon  this  floor,  admonishing  them,  as  they 
love  their  duty  and  their  country,  and  as  they 
desire  to  serve  truly  the  God  that  made  and 
blesses  them,  to  see  well  that  they  remember 
and  emulate  his  example.  And  to  us,  sir,  who 
have  not  chosen  those  pursuits — to  us  who,  in 
:he  walks  of  civil  life,  have  resting  upon  us 
responsibilities  and  duties,  which,  while  he 
ived,  we  shared  with  him,  and  now  that  he  is 
dead,  inherit  from  him,  just  as  high,  and  great 
and  noble,  if  well  discharged,  as  those  in  which 
le  lost  his  life — to  you,  sir,  and  to  me,  I  think 
[  hear  his  voice  exhorting  us  to  seek  with  con- 
stant, earnest,  patient  care,  to  find  where  duty 
calls  us,  and  there  constantly  and  faithfully  to 
walk. 

I    cannot    enter,    Mr.    President — for    time 
would  fail  me — nor  is  it  a  pleasant  occupation 


21 


at  such  a  time  when  only  tender  thoughts  fill 
and  touch  the  heart— into  an  analysis  of  the 
character  of  this  good  man.  1  will  only  say 
that  I  found  him  to  be  one  of  those  men  of 
simple,  truthful  nature— of  high,  true  courage 
— calm,  clear  thought,  and  modest,  but  assured 
confidence  in  himself,  without  which,  perhaps, 
no  great  achievements  are  possible.  I  found 
him  failing  in  nothing  required  of  him  here, 
ready  to  do  all  with  perfect  courage  that  duty 
dictated.  Deeply  do  I  deplore  his  loss  to  his 
family — there,  indeed,  is  a  loss  of  which  we 
cannot  speak — for  no  man  knows  how  great 
the  gap,  how  terrible  the  gulf  made  in  his 
family,  bound  to  them,  as  he  was,  by  a  life  of 
purity,  tenderness  and  manly  duty,  well  per- 
formed. You  speak  words  of  consolation,  and 
no  doubt  they  will  be  kindly  received  and 
gratefully  treasured,  but  for  all  else  they  are 
idle,  because  they  have  no  real  power  of  con- 
solation. Much,  also,  do  I  deplore  his  loss  to 


this  body  and  to  the  commonwealth,  and  to  the 
whole  nation,  which  now  sadly  needs  the  ser- 
vices of  all  its  best  servants.  And  yet,  I  cannot 
from  my  heart  think  but  that  it  is  best  for  him 
that  it  is  so,  for  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  bless- 
ings G«-d  can  give  to  a  noble  man,  to  per- 
mit him  to  be  found  doing  his  duty  fully  a* 
the  hour  of  death  ;  to  allow  him  to  serve  his 
country,  and  to  testify  his  love  for  it  by  offer- 
ing his  life  in  its  defence  ;  and  just  in  propor- 
tion as  He  calls  upon  him  for  great  sacrifices, 
is  the  blessing  great. 

I  cannot  add  anything  more  to  what  I  have 
already  said  upon  the  impulse  of  the  moment. 
I  have  felt  it  to  be  my  duty,  not  only  personally, 
but  in  behalf  of  those  for  whom  I  speak,  to  say 
this  much  at  least.  I  earnestly  second  the  res- 
olutions. 

The  resolutions  were  then  adopted,  and  the 
Convention  adjourned. 


THIED    DAT. 


JEFFERSON  CITY, 
Wednesday,  June  4,  1862. 
The  Convention  met  at  9  o'clock. 
Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 
The  roll  was  called  and  sixty-six  members 
answered  to  their  names. 

A    DUPLICATE    CERTIFICATE. 

Mr.  PIPKIN  offered  the  following  : 
Resolved.,  That  the  Committee  on  Accounts 
be  instructed  to  issue  to  James  C.  Powers, 
Sheriff  of  Jefferson  county,  a  ceitificate  for 
$66,  that  being  the  amount  issued  to  Philip 
Pipkin  at  the  last  session  of  the  Convention  by 
certificate,  which  is  lost,  mislaid,  or  destroyed. 
Mr.  President :  I  have  the  affidavit  of  Mr. 
Powers,  Sheriff  of  Jefferson  county,  as  to  the 
loss  of  that  certificate.  I  will  state  to  the 
Convention  that,  in  the  payment  of  my  tax  in 
the  county  of  Jefferson,  I  paid  over  to  the 
Sheriff  the  certificate  which  I  received  for  my 
services  as  a  member  of  this  Convention  at  the 
last  October  session.  The  Sheriff  informed 
me,  a  few  weeks  ago,  that  it  was  lost ;  that 
when  he  came  to  pay  over  the  revenue  he  sup- 
posed that  he  had  the  certificate,  but  found  that 
it  was  lost  or  mislaid,  and,  therefore,  he  could 
not  get  credit  for  the  amount. 


The  PRESIDENT.  A  duplicate  certificate 
for  the  amount  will  be  issued,  if  there  be  no 
objection. 

No  objection  was  made. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  POMEROY,  Mr.  McClurg 
was  added  to  the  Committee  on  Congressional 
Districts. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  stated  that  the  Committee 
I  on  Elections  would  not  be  able  to  report  before 
j  3  o'clock  P.  M.,  and  the  Convention  accordingly 
i  adjourned  to  that  hour. 


AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

The  Convention  met  at  3  P.  M. 

Mr.  ALLEN  offered  the  following  : 

Resolved,  That  we  repudiate  and  eschew  the 
agitation  of  the  slavery  question  in  the  State 
of  Missouri  at  the  present  time. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Constitu- 
tion. 

SEATS    OF   MEMBERS   TO    BE    VACATED. 

Mr.  BRIDGE  offered  the  following: 

WHEREAS,    this    Convention  has   sufficient 

evidence  before  it  of  the  disloyalty  of  certain 

members  who  have  absented  themselves  from 

its  deliberations  heretofore,  and  are  now,  and 


22 


have  been  for  months  past,  absent  from  the 
State  and  residents  of  the  so-called  Confeder- 
ate States,  where  they  have  been  and  are  now 
engaged  in  a  wicked  and  traitorous  attempt  by 
force  of  arms  to  destroy  the  lawful  authority 
of  the  United  States  Government  as  well  as 
the  Provisional  Government  of  this  State; 
therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  self-respect  and  a  sense  of 
justice  to  the  people  of  certain  districts  in  this 
State  which  are  entitled  to  a  full  representation 
in  this  Convention,  impel  us  to  declare  the  seats 
of  Sterling  Price,  of  Chariton  county,  Robert 
A.  Hatcher,  of  New  Madrid  county,  Robert 
W.  Crawford,  of  Lawrence  county,  V.  B.  Hill, 
of  Pulaski  county,  John  R.  Chenault,  of  Jas- 
per county,  and  Uriel  Wright,  of  St.  Louis 
county,  vacant,  and  that  their  names  be  struck 
from  the  roll  of  this  Convention. 

Mr.  PIPKIN  moved  to  add'the  name  of  W.  W. 
Turner. 

The  motion  was  accepted. 

Mr.  LEEPER  moved  to  add  the  name  of  Gen. 
Watkins. 

The  motion  was  accepted. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  move  to  refer  the  resolution 
to  a  select  committee  to  consist  of  seven  mem- 
bers. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

The  President  appointed  as  the  Committee 
Messrs.  Bridge,  Allen,  Busch,  Calhoun,  Eit- 
zen,  Gravelly,  and  Isbell. 

SUPREME    COURT   DECISIONS. 

Mr.  POMEROY  offered  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  State  be  and 
is  hereby  authorized  to  forward  to  the  Clerk 
of  the  Phelps  Circuit  Court,  for  the  use  of  the 
county,  a  full  sett  of  the  bound  volumes  of  the 
Supreme  Court  Decisions  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri. 

I  desire  to  say  to  the  Convention  that  Phelps 
county  has  never  received  these  Reports.  We 
are  entitled  to  them,  but  the  Secretary  of  State 
is  not  willing  to  forward  them  unless  author- 
ized to  do  so  by  the  Convention. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  Is  there  not  a  law 
already  existing  which  provides  for  what  is 
here  proposed? 

Mr.  POMEROY.     I  think  so. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  What  then  is  the  use 
of  passing  this  resolution  ? 

Mr.  POMEROY.  The  Secretary  of  State  does 
not  feel  authorized  to  send  them  under  the  ex- 
isting act. 

The  subject  was  referred  to  a  select  com 


mittee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Pomeroy,  Smith 
of  Linn,  and  Welch. 

DISFRANCHISING  PROPOSITION. 

Mr.  MEYER  offered  the  following  : 

Resolved)  That  the  citizens  of  this  State  who 
have  by  their  own  acts  expatriated  themselves 
ought  not  to  be  permitted  to  vote  at  any  future 
election  or  hold  office,  unless  restored  to  their 
citizenship  by  proper  legislation,  and  that  an 
ordinance  to  this  end  should  be  adopted  by 
this  Convention. 

Resolved,  That  the  Convention  should  pass 
an  ordinance  defining  the  crime  of  conspiracy 
against  the  people  of  the  State,  and  providing 
for  the  punishment  of  all  persons  engaged  in 
such  crime  by  fine  and  imprisonment  according 
to  the  nature  and  degree  of  the  crime  com- 
mitted. 

Mr.  MEYER.  Mr.  President:  Since  civil 
war  has  been  inaugurated  in  this  State,  an  im- 
mense amount  of  valuable  property  has  been 
taken  from  this  State  to  the  so-called  seceded 
States,  and  this,  too,  has  been  done  in  direct 
violation  of  the  President's  proclamation,  dated 
at  the  City  of  Washington,  August  16th,  1861. 

Among  the  property  taken  south,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  from  30,000  to  40,000  slaves  from 
this  State  have  been  taken  away.  Aside  from 
the  wrong  done  in  thus  breaking  the  laws  of 
Congress  and  the  proclamation  of  the  Presi- 
dent, which  forbid  the  intercourse  between  the 
people  of  loyal  and  the  people  of  the  rebellious 
States,  there  is  a  greater  wrong  of  which  I 
complain.  It  is  the  wrong  done  our  own  Slate 
and  the  aid  and  comfort  given  to  the  rebels. 
The  State  of  Missouri  will  lose  the  labor  of 
those  negroes  in  tilling  the  soil,  and  the  taxes 
which  would  have  been  due  on  them.  This,  at 
the  present  crisis,  is  no  small  matter.  But  in 
the  proportion  in  which  we  lose,  the  rebels 
gain.  They  acquire  that  number  of  new  hands 
to  till  the  soil  or  to  build  fortifications  for 
them.  Is  not  that  a  serious  matter  for  the 
people  of  this  State  to  consider?  And  yet  I 
have  but  mentioned  one  of  the  smallest  items. 
la  it  not  time  that  something  should  be  done  to 
check  the  career  of  those  who  have  thus,  and 
are  yet,  daily  aiding  and  abetting  the  enemy 
in  this  manner?  I  think  it  is. 

Most  of  these  men  return  after  having,  as 
they  believe,  taken  their  property  to  some 
place  of  safety,  or  out  of  the  reach  of  law  for 
the  time  being.  They  return,  sir,  to  do  what? 
Why  to  murder,  rob — in  fact,  to  commit  every 
outrage  know  in  the  calendar  of  crime.  Am 


23 


I  wrong  in  this,  or  am  I  overdrawing  this  pic- 
ture ?  Go  look  at  the  desolation  throughout 
the  State  :  see  the  whitening  bones  of  the  mur- 
dered at  the  roadside.  Why  are  they  there  ? 
Because  they  loved  their  country,  obeyed  its 
laws,  and  were  true  patriots  that  desired  no- 
thing but  the  preservation  of  the  Constitution 
bequeathed  to  them  by  their  fathers.  And  see 
the  blackened  walls  of  burnt  houses.  Who  has 
done  all  this  ?  Mostly  men  who  have  taken 
their  all  to  the  South,  aided  by  that  class  of 
men  that  say  they  sympathize  with  the  South. 
When  arrested  they  say  we  have  done  nothing; 
true,  our  sympathy  is  with  the  rebels,  but  we 
have  done  nothing.  *  Now,  sir,  I  think  those 
men  should  be  taught  that  they  must  do  some- 
thing, and  that  that  something  must  be  an  un- 
conditional support  of  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  our  country,  as  declared  by  the  people, 
and  not  as  they  choose  to  interpret  it. 

Persons  have  returned  and  are  daily  return- 
ing to  this  State  to  take  the  oath,  and  with  that 
oath  fresh  on  their  lips,  and  with  a  copy  of  it 
in  their  pockets,  they  are  doing  what  ?  Why, 
sir,  they  are  doing  that  which  will  turn  the 
fair  State  of  Missouri  into  complete  desolation 
and  waste.  I  ask  protection  of  you  for  the 
thousands  of  women  and  children  of  our  be- 
loved State.  They  must  be  protected,  and  you 
must  do  it.  I  am  tired  of  calling  out  mercy 
when  there  is  none  to  be  returned.  Do  they 
show  mercy  to  our  soldiers  and  to  loyal  men? 
Is  it  not  a  daily  occurrence  that  you  read  of  a 
soldier  being  assassinated  in  some  part  of  the 
State,  or  that  Union  families  have  been  robbed 
and  driven  from  their  homes?  We  hear  this 
daily  ;  yet  I  am  told  to  have  mercy.  I  myself 
have  heard  over  and  over  again,  from  rebels 
themselves,  that  they  paid  no  regard  to  their 
oath.  Do  we  not  all  know  officers  who  have 
come  forward  and  taken  the  oath  in  order  to 
retain  their  offices,  lose  no  opportunity  to  abuse 
the  Government  ?  How  they  laugh  when  a 
reverse  befalls  us  !  Yes,  laugh  with  that  laugh 
taught  them  by  his  Satanic  Majesty  to  fully 
express  their  hellish  joy. 

I  am  happy  to  state,  sir,  that  I  have  always 
been  opposed  to  test  oaths.  I  was  one  of  the 
nine  members  of  this  body  that  voted  againsl 
the  oath,  and  in  favor  of  turning  all  out.  Loya 
men  might  then  have  been  re-appointed,  anc 
we  should  not  now  have  traitors  in  office.  The 
rebels  have,  by  their  acts  against  the  expresset 
law  of  the  Government,  and  against  the  wish 
and  desire  of  the  loyal  people  of  this  State 
added  to  taxable  property  of  States  in  rebellior 


and  committed  untold  outrages.     I    desire  to 
enow,  sir,  and  the  people  desire   to  know,  if 
hose  traitors  shall  be  permitted  to  return  to 
his  State  and  escape  free?     Shall  they  be  put 
on  equality  with  those  of  our  citizens  who,  in 
lefense  of  our  Government,  have   spilt  their 
blood  and  offered  their  all  upon  the  altar  of 
heir  country?  Shall  these  patriots  be  upon  the 
same  footing  with  the  traitors?     I  say,  No! 
And  the  loyal  people  of  our  State  will  proclaim 
in  thunder  tones,  No  ?     But,  sir,  from  the  num- 
ber of  secesh  sympathizers  that  have  been  ap- 
pointed to  high  places,  one  would  almost  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  those  that  have  been  un- 
conditional Union   men  from  the   commence- 
ment, and  true  through  life,  are  to  stand  aside 
hereafter  to  give  place  to  those  sympathizers  ; 
and  if,  perchance,  you  desire  to  know  the  rea- 
son of  their  appointment,  the  answer  is,  "  Oh! 
they  are  Union  men,  but  only  sympathize  with 
the  South  !  "     Something,  sir,  must  be  done  ; 
this  class  of  traitors  are  organizing  over  our 
State  again  to  commit  their  hellish  deeds.   Can 
we  be  blind  to  the  signs  of  the  times  ?    Have 
you  seen  the  extracts  from  Southern  papers  ? 
Sir,  have  you  read  the  act  of  the  rebel  Congress 
legalizing  guerrilla  warfare  and  bushwhacking, 
only  another  name  for  murder  and  robberies? 
Shall  we  lie  idle  and  let  this  terrible  scourge 
come  over   us.     The   meanest  beast   and  the 
greatest  coward  fights  in  self-defense.     Shall 
this  great  State  stand  still  and   await  to  re- 
ceive her  death  blow  ?  or  shall  we  now  prepare 
to  meet  the  emergency,  strengthening  our  mili- 
tary by  passing  such  laws  as  will  protect  good 
citizens    and    bring    sure    punishment  to  the 
guilty?     I  know  that  rebel  sympathizers  talk 
to  us  of  forbearance  ;  they  say  we  must  bring 
back  these  misguided  men  by  kind  words    Oh, 
surpassing  charity !  ever  flowing  milk  of  hu- 
man kindness  !     Bat  do  they  themselves  prac- 
tice it  ?     I  point,  sir,  to  the  refugees  who  came 
through  snow  and  ice  and  rain,  in  the  middle 
of  an  inclement  winter,  driven  away  by  these 
charitable  chivalry — these  men,  so  sensitive  of 
their  honor,  so  generous.     Go   ask  the  little 
children  who,  barefooted,  waded  through  the 
snow  to  escape  them  !     Go  ask  the  Union  men 
everywhere  j  ask  them,  I  say,  and  see  if  they 
reply  that  mercy  was  shown  them.     Secession 
sympathizers  may,  on  the  other  hand,  point  to> 
jayhawking  on  our  western  frontier — outrages 
committed  on   our  citizens  by  men  acting  as 
officers  in  the  army  of  our  Government.     My 
reply  is,  that  they  are  no  better  than  rebels. 
But  the  leaders  of  this  rebellion  are  also  re- 


24 


sponsible  for  those  crimes.  If  the}'  had  not 
brought  these  troubles  upon  Ihe  State,  we 
sho  ild  never  had  cause  to  complain  of  evil  dis- 
posed citizens  of  neighboring  States.  As  a 
case  in  point  to  my  argument  regarding  the 
danger  from  a  guerrilla  warfare,  I  would  call 
the  attention  of  this  Convention  to  the  follow- 
ing facts:  A  short  time  ago  a  Government  trail), 
as  well  as  the  United  States  mail,  was  robbed 
a  few  miles  from  Rolla.  Four  of  the  party 
were  subsequently  arrested  by  our  military. 
They  confessed  that  they  had  robbed  the  mail 
and  destroyed  the  train,  but  gave  as  an  excuse 
that  it  was  done  by  order  of  Colonel  Coleman, 
who  derived  his  authority  from  General  Price, 
of  the  Confederate  army,  to  organize  guerrilla 
bands  for  Missouri. 

Here,  sir,  is  the  fact  established  ;  we  are  to 
have  a  renewal  of  the  past  outrages  in  our 
State  j  again  our  commerce,  our  manufacturing 
and  agricultural  interests  are  to  lie  dormant. 
Life  and  property  are  again  to  be  placed 
in  the  hands  of  a  set  of  rascally  and  des- 
perate traitors,  who  are  too  cowardly  to  meet 
our  army  on  the  open  field,  and  whose  grand 
object  is  only  to  satisfy  their  hellish  desire  for 
blood  and  plunder.  Again,  sir,  I  ask  for  pro- 
tection, by  a  law  from  this  Convention  j  now 
is  our  time  to  give  to  the  people  this  protection. 
In  a  few  months  it  will  be  too  late;  an  outraged 
people  will  take  the  matter  in  their  own  hands, 
and  then  woe  !  thrice  woe!  to  our  State. 

Mr.  President,  we  do  not  alone  want  a  law 
passed  by  this  Convention,  declaring  these  way- 
laying assassinations  a  hideous  crime,  and  pun- 
ishing such  as  are  engaged  in  any  manner  in 
aiding  and  concealing  the  guilty,  to  the  full 
extent  of  our  constitutional  limit ;  but  we  also 
want  a  proper  disposition  made  of  those  who 
have  taken  their  property  from  this  State  to 
aid  and  abet  the  rebellion. 

Shall  they,  after  the  strong  arm  of  our  Gov- 
ernment has  crushed  this  rebellion,  be  permit- 
ted to  return  and  bring  back  their  negroes  ?  I 
trust  not.  I  do  not  believe  they  ought  to  be 
regarded  as  citizens,  and  their  slaves  ought 
never  to  be  permitted  to  return  to  them  in 
this  State.  All  those  that  have  taken  their 
effects  south  should  be  declared  aliens  and 
not  enjoy  the  right  of  citizenship  again  until 
they  comply  with  our  alien  laws.  This  Con- 
vention ought  to  make  and  declare  all  such 
aliens. 

The  resolutions  were  referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Elective  Franchise. 

Mr,  STEWART  offered  the  following: 


•» 

Resolved,  That  our  soldiers  have  got  the  guns 
in  their  own  hands,  and  they  ought  to  keep  them 
until  the  rebellion  is  over. 

Mr.  POMEROY  offered  a  bill  punishing,  by 
fine  and  imprisonment,  any  person  or  persons 
who  shall  hereafter  wilfully  disturb  any  court 
of  record  in  this  State  when  the  same  is  in 
session. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Constitution. 

EXEMPTING   COUNTIES    FROM    TAXATION. 

Mr.  COMINGO  introduced  a  bill  releasing  the 
citizens  of  Cass,  Jackson,  and  Bates  counties 
from  the  payment  of  their  State  taxes  for  the 
years  1861  and  1862.  He.said  : 

There  may  be  some  little  impropriety  in  my 
offering  this  ordinance  at  this  time,  inasmuch 
as  my  colleague  offered  a  resolution  yesterday 
looking  to  the  same  object,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Finance;  but  knowing 
that  the  committees  will  be  pressed  with  the 
work  that  is  before  them,  I  have  drawn  up  the 
ordinance  which  has  been  read.  HThe  ordi- 
nance, I  have  no  doubt,  strikes  the  mind  of  the 
members  of  the  Convention  as  being  rather 
extraordinary,  and  I  am  free  to  confess  that 
at  first  blush  it  does  look  as  though  it  were 
extraordinary;  but  there  are  facts  which,  it 
seems  to  me,  if  thoroughly  understood  by 
members  of  the  Convention,  will  divest  it  of  its 
extraordinary  appearance,  and  give  it  the 
semblance  of  justice,  and  that  will  show  that, 
in  asking  this  for  these  counties,  I  am  not  ask- 
ing more  of  the  Convention  than  it  becomes 
their  duty  to  grant  us.  I  do  not  appear  before 
this  Convention  with  any  impracticable  propo- 
sition, but  1  come  before  you  with  the  utmost 
good  faith,  and  believing  it  is  due  to  the  people 
of  these  counties  that  they  should  receive  what 
is  demanded  by  this  ordinance.  It  perhaps 
looks  as  though  the  people  of  the  counties  of 
Jackson,  Cass,  and  Bates,  were  asking  at  the 
hands  of  this  Convention  a  peculiar  favor,  but 
it  does  not  so  appear  to  my  mind.  We  ask  no 
special  legislation,  and  we  would  not  come 
before  this  body  were  not  our  cause  a  just  one. 
We  do  come  before  this  body  as  the  only  one 
which  can  afford  the  relief  which  is  demanded. 

When  the  people  of  any  community,  or  of 
any  State,  agree  to  pay  taxes,  they  do  it  with 
the  express  or  implied  understanding  that  they 
shall  receive  certain  benefits  in  return.  One  of 
these  benefits  is  protection  of  their  property. 
Now,  I  presume  the  people  of  Jackson  county 
are  not  disposed  to  complain  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  Missouri  for  the  non-fulfillment  of  its 


25 


obligations  and  duties.  I  presume  the  Govern-  i  not  confine  itself  to  those  whom  we  now  term 
ment  of  Missouri  did  all  in  its  power  to  protect  i  disloyal,  but  it  is  universal.  The  men  who  are 
the  people  of  these  counties  against  the  injuries  the  most  loyal  have  suffered  as  much  as  those 
which  they  suffered.  We  are  not  disposed  to  I  the  most  disloyal.  In  some  instances,  men  the 
complain  of  the  Government  of  Missouri,  or  most  disloyal  have  escaped,  while  the  most 
ask  to  be  discharged  from  the  fact  that  Missouri  i  loyal  have  suffered.  The  whole  community 
has  not  done  what  she  promised  to  do.  Buf,  '  has  suffered — not,  sir,  from  one  party  alone — 


sir,  we  come  before  you  on  the  ground  that  we 
believe  the  counties  named  in  the  ordinance  are 


I  would  not  make  such  a  remark,  because  it  is 
not  true  as  a  matter  of  fact.     But,  sir,  we  have 


unable  to  pay  their  taxes ;  and  we  believe,  '  suffered  from  both  parties.  We  do  not  hold 
furthermore,  that  the  people  of  these  counties  up  these  grievances  as  being  worthy  of  redress 
ought  not  to  be  required  to  pay  their  taxes  because  we  have  suffered  from  one  or  the  other 
during  the  present  year.  They  are  very  greatly  party,  but  we  ask  it  as  a  matter  of  justice.  I 
indebted  to  each  other;  almost  every  man  in  j  care  not  from  what  source  the  injury  came. 


those  counties  is  more  or  Jess  in  debt.  The 
farmer  or  the  mechanic  is  indebfed  to  his  mer- 
chant, and  the  merchant  is  indebted  to  the 
wholesale  dealers  in  St.  Louis  and  elsewhere. 
I  do  not  mention  this  as  an  excuse  for  the  non- 
payment of  Iheir  taxes,  but  to  show  their  con- 


Within  the  past  few  months,  property  in  these 
counties  has  depreciated  and  been  greatly 
diminished.  An  immense  amount  of  property 
has  been  taken  from  the  people  of  these  coun- 
ties— property  that  was  assessed  for  1861,  and 
upon  which  the  taxes  have  not  yet  been  paid. 


dition,  and  that  in  consequence  of  this  very  I  During  the  months  of  December,  January,  and 


great  indebtedness  they  are  less  able  to  pay  the 
taxes  which  are  due  the  State  of  Missouri. 
Now,  sir,  what  are  the  facts  with  regard  to 


February,  from  time  to  time,  immense  caval- 
cades of  mules,  horses,  wagons,  and  almost 
every  imaginable  kind  of  property,  was 


the  people  of  these  counties?  I  do  not  think  removed  from  these  counties  out  of  the  State, 
that  because  of  the  indebtedness  which  hangs  j  ana<  it  will  never  be  returned.  For  mile?  and 
over  them,  growing  out  of  their  own  contracts  I  miles  the  road  would  be  lined  with  the  property 
with  their  fellow  citizens,  that  they  ought  to  j  of  the  citizens  of  these  counties  which  had  been 
ask  or  receive  favors  from  this  Convention  5  i  removed  from  them  by  force  and  violence,  and 
but  the  facts  are,  that  they  have  been  disabled  j  which  has  never  yet  been  returned  and  never 
by  certain  circumstances  which  have  occurred  'will  be.  Not  only  have  they  been  deprived  of 
within  the  past  year,  not  only  to  pay  their  I  this  property — immense  numbers  of  slaves, 
ordinary  debts  contracted  with  their  fellow  ,  horses,  mulea,  wagons,  and  all  that — but  they 
citizens,  but  they  have  been  disabled  from  the  i  have  been  deprived  of  the  very  necessaries  of 
payment  of  this  heavy  debt  to  the  State  of  i  life.  Their  houses  have  been  entered,  and  their 
Missouri.  It  is  well  known,  I  presume,  to  you,  I  silver  ware,  jewelry,  bed  clothing,  and  the 
Mr.  President,  that  the  people  of  these  counties  clothing  with  which  they  covered  their  naked- 


have  suffered  more  from  the  violence  of  the 
times  than  any  other  counties  in  the  State  of 
Missouri,  unless  it  should  be  those  in  the  ex- 
treme south-east  and  west.  Men  who,  months 
ago,  were  in  affluent  circumstances,  who  had 


ness,  have  been  taken  from  them,  and  they  have 
been  left  utterly  destitute.  Their  homes  have 
been  made  desolate ;  the  houses  which  sheltered 
them  from  the  storms  have  been  burned,  they 
being  first  driven  from  them  in  midwinter,  and 


an  abundance  to  spare  of  the  good  things  of    left  destitute  of  the  very  necessaries  of  life, 
this  world,  are  now  reduced  almost  to  a  state    The  value  of  their  real  estate  has  thus  been 
of  poverty.    Men  who  hitherto  have  not  known 
what  the  word  "want"  meant,  so  far  as  their 


greatly  diminished.     I  might  safely  say  that 
one  thousand  families  in  these  three  counties 

own  circumstances  were  concerned,  are  now  !  have  been  deprived  of  the  necessaries  of  life, 

reduced  to  the  most  extreme  want,  and  have 

not  the  means  to  procure  for  themselves  such 


not  only  of  clothing  and  food,  but  of  the  houses 
which  hitherto  sheltered  them  from  the  storms, 
things  as  are  necessary  for  their  subsistence  '  and  in  which  some  of  them  had  invested  the 
and  that  of  their  families.  Do  you  ask  under  '  earnings  of  half  a  life-time.  Ride  through  these 
what  circumstances  they  have  been  thus  re-  counties  now,  and  I  defy  any  man  to  go  twenty 
duoed?  Has  it  been  on  account  of  any  profli-  |  miles  in  any  direction  without  seeing  incon- 
gacy  or  by  their  own  acts?  Perhaps,  in  some  testible  evidence  of  the  violence  that  has  pre- 


instances,   they  have  been  guilty  of  acts  of 
disloyalty,  but  this  condition  of  affairs  does 


vailed  throughout  their  length  and  breadth. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  sir,  these  people  who 


26 


have  been  thus  impoverished  are  unable  to  pay 
their  taxes.  Not  only  have  they  thus  been 
deprived  of  their  property,  but  they  have  been 
insulted  and  injured  and  outraged,  without 
regard  to  party  or  sex.  Perhaps  I  should  not 
allude  to  this ;  but  I  will  add,  that,  without 
regard  to  sex,  they  have  sustained  injuries  and 
insults  which  time  can  never  efface.  Ladies 
have  been  cursed  at  their  own  doors  and  fire- 
sides, forcibly  ejected  from  their  own  houses, 
and  offered  every  other  indignity  and  outrage 
that  the  human  mind  can  conceive  of.  This  I 
mention  as  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  times 
to  show  how  these  people  have  suffered.  But, 
without  •  alluding  further  to  these  personal 
indignities,  of  which  they  have  a  right  to  com- 
plain, I  will  refer  you  to  the  value  of  their 
property  which  was  taxed  in  1861,  of  which 
they  have  been  deprived  by  violence,  and  upon 
which  these  people  are  all  liable  to  pay  taxes 
unless  this  ordinance  should  pass.  According 
to  the  best  estimate  that  can  be  made  of  such 
property,  it  falls  not  far  short  of  $5,000,000. 
It  is  estimated  from  $4,500,000  to  $6,000,000  ; 
but  from  the  best  estimate  I  can  learn,  the 
property  that  has  been  taken  from  individuals 
amounts  to  at  least  $5,000,000. 

The  injuries  of  which  I  have  spoken  have 
been  inflicted  upon  individuals.  Every  indi- 
vidual in  the  community  has  not  suffered 
directly,  but  the  whole  mass  of  the  community 
has  suffered  indirectly,  and  as  a  matter  of 
course  the  entire  community  must  feel  the  loss 
directly  or  indirectly.  The  effect  has  been  to 
crush  out  the  energies  of  that  people.  You 
find  scores  of  farms  that  are  not  under  cultiva. 
tion.  Not  one  acre  in  twenty  in  those  counties 
is  under  cultivation.  But  few  farmers  in  those 
counties  will  be  enabled  to  raise  enough  to 
sustain  themselves.  Many  must  suffer  from 
want  unless  they  have  something  remaining 
from  the  past  year,  for  they  will  not  be  able  to 
sustain  themselves  by  the  products  of  the 
present  year.  Many  cannot  cultivate  their 
garden  spots  without  borrowing  stock  and  tools 
for  so  doing.  Now,  what  do  a  people  in  that 
condition  deserve  from  this  Convention  or  from 
the  people  of  Missouri?  Should  they  be  re- 
quired to  pay  taxes  on  millions  of  dollars  of 
which  they  have  been  deprived?  Is  it  just 
that  they  shall  be  required  to  pay  taxes  upon 
$5,000,000  which  has  been  taken  from  them  ?  or 
is  it  not  more  just  and  equitable  to  the  people 
of  those  counties  to  say,  we  demand  nothing 
of  that  sort?  It  is  true,  sir,  the  whole  State 
has  suffered  from  this  civil  war,  but  upon  the 


people  of  these  counties  it  has  fallen,  I  think, 
with  more  terrific  force  than  anywhere  else. 

In  times  of  peace,  when  the  cry  of  distress 
has  come  from  other  quarters,  when  our  kindred 
of  the  South  have  been  visited  by  "the  pesti- 
lence that  walks  in  darkness  and  the  destruction 
that  wastes  at  noon-day,''  the  people  of  this 
State  have  cheerfully  contributed  to  their 
wants ;  and  now,  when  these  people,  citizens 
of  this  commonwealth,  have  suffered  from  the 
evils- of  war,  will  the  people  of  the  State  turn  a 
deaf  ear,  and  refuse  to  give  them  the  aid  and 
relief  v/hich  is  demanded  as  a  matter  of  justice  ? 
I  trust  nothing  of  this  sort  will  be  done.  It 
would  seem  to  me  as  a  terrible  injustice  to  say 
to  them,  "pay  me  all  thou  owest" — to  say  to 
the  people  of  these  counties,  we  require  the 
utmost,  the  last  cent  due,  even  under  existing 
circumstances.  I  trust,  although  I  may  feel 
differently  on  this  subject — although  my  desire 
may  mislead  my  judgment — I  trust  the  only 
answer  that  will  be  given  to  the  ordinance  will 
be  a  hearty  yea  and  amen.  I  should  regret 
exceedingly  if  it  should  be  otherwise.  If  the 
ordinance  should  be  referred,  I  trust  before  we 
shall  adjourn  the  committee  will  give  it  the 
consideration  which  I  think  it  merits. 

Mr.  MCDOWELL.  I  move  to  amend  by  in- 
cluding the  counties  of  Bade,  Jasper,  Burton, 
and  Cedar. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  move  to  amend  by  including  all 
the  counties  composing  the  Sixth  Congression- 
al District,  except  Gasconade,  Osage,  and  Ma- 
ries. I  believe  the  proposition  of  my  friend 
from  Jackson  is  correct.  I  believe  that  a  sense 
of  duty  due  from  this  Convention  to  the 
people  of  the  counties  he  represents,  demands 
that  his  proposition  should  be  passed  ;  and 
while  I  believe  that  the  whole  Congressional 
District  represented  by  Phelps  (except  the 
counties  I  have  excluded,  and  which  I  did  from 
the  fact  that  civil  war  had  not  devastated  them, 
and  not  from  any  disrespect  to  those  counties) 
should  be  included  in  the  same  proposition. 
Aside  from  the  counties  I  have  named,  there  is 
not  one  solitary  county  in  the  district  represent- 
ed by  Phelps  but  what  has  been  laid  waste,  so 
that  the  people  are  unable  to  pay  their  taxes. 
If  they  are  compelled  to  pay  their  taxes  for 
1861-2,  it  will  have  to  be  done  by  selling  the 
land,  and  the  farmers  will  be  driven  from  their 
homes.  Their  houses  have  been  burned  down, 
and  their  crops  of  the  last  year  have  been  con- 
sumed by  one  army  or  the  other.  Their  land 
has  been  overrun  by  an  army,  not  one  time, 
but  three  or  four  times,  and  the  country  has 


27 


been  swept  as  with  the  besom  of  destruction,  so 
that,  in  thousands  of  instances,  no  crops  can 
be  raised  in  Phelps'  district,  for  lack  of  fenc- 
ing ;  and,  in  thousands  of  other  instances,  for 
lack  of  horses  and  the  implements  of  agricul- 
ture. This  being  the  condition  of  these  people, 
the  Convention  is  in  duty  bound  to  pass  an  or- 
dinance exempting  these  people  from  the  pay- 
ment of  their  taxes  for  1861-2.  Every  sensi- 
ble gentleman  here  knows  that  an  army  of  fif- 
ty thousand  or  a  hundred  thousand  men  cannot 
be  marched  over  a  country  three  or  four  times 
without  devastating  it.  I  repeat,  if  we  are 
called  upon  to  pay  our  taxes  we  cannot  do  it, 
and  our  land  will  have  to  be  sold.  We  have 
not  got  the  money,  and  if  the  land  is  to  be  put 
up  at  sale,  it  will  change  the  whole  population 
of  the  country.  I  do  no  injustice  to  the  people 
of  any  other  portion  of  the  State  when  I  say 
the  people  of  Phelps'  district  stand  higher  on 
the  record  in  regard  to  the  payment  of  their 
taxes  than  the  people  of  any  other  portion  of 
Missouri.  I  can  take  you  to  the  office  of  the 
Register  of  Lands  and  show  that  the  county 
of  Greene  paid  her  tax  for  1860  within  a  few 
days  after  it  was  due,  and  that  there  was  only 
$14  on  the  delinquent  list.  But  if  this  land  in 
Southwest  Missouri  is  put  up  at  sale  somebody 
else  will  buy  the  land  and  pay  the  taxes,  and 
the  people  who  have  heretofore  paid  their  taxes 
so  promptly  will  be  forced  from  the  country 
I  hope  this  Convention  will  do  what  is  just  and 
right,  because  it  is  much  better  for  the  people 
who  have  not  been  overrun  by  either  army,  to 
bear  the  brunt  of  the  tax  than  to  bear  what  we 
have  had  to  in  the  destruction  of  our  property 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.     I  move  to  refer  the  mat- 
ter to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 


REPORT    OF    COMMITTEE    ON    ELECTIONS. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  from  the  Committee  on 
Elections  and  Elective  Franchise,  reported  three 
bills  :  First,  a  bill  to  continue  the  present  offi- 
cers of  the  State  in  office  until  1864  ;  second, 
bill  repealing  certain  ordinances  submiiting 
the  action  of  the  Convention  to  the  people  j 
and,  third,  a  bill  denning  the  qualifications  of 
voters  in  the  State  of  Missouri. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK,  a  member  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Elections,  dissented  from  the  last  section 
of  the  bill  defining  the  qualifications  of  voters. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  As  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Elections  and  Elective  Franchise,  I 
have  given  my  assent  to  the  ordinance  repeal- 
ing certain  ordinances  passed  heretofore,  in  re- 
lation to  the  submission  of  these  ordinances  to 
the  people  at  the  next  August  election.  I  have 
also  given  my  assent  to  the  ordinance  continu- 
ing the  present  Provisional  Government  in  of- 
fice until  the  1st  Monday  of  August,  1864,  or 
until  their  successors  may  be  elected  and  qual- 
ified. I  have  not  given  my  assent,  in  commit- 
tee, to  the  ordinance  which  has  been  reported 
regulating  and  modifying  the  right  of  the  elec- 
tive franchise.  To  carry  out  the  system  which 
has  been  inaugurated  by  that  committee,  in  the 
ordinances  to  which  I  have  given  my  assent,  I 
desire,  as  the  minority  of  that  committee,  to 
propose  another  ordinance  which  I  will  ask  to 
have  read. 

The  Clerk  then  read  the  bill. 

It  postpones  all  elections,  and  provides  that 
the  various  officers  to  be  elected  at  the  coming 
election  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

The  several  bills  were  ordered  to  be  printed, 
and  were  made  the  special  order  of  the  day  for 
to-morrow  at  2  o'clock  P.  M. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned. 


FOURTH   DAT. 


JEFFERSON  CITY, 
Thursday,  June  5,  1862. 
The  Convention  met  at  9  o'clock. 
Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 

RESOLUTIONS     AND    REPORTS. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD,  from  the  Committee  on 
Congressional  Districts,  reported  a  bill  dividing 
the  State  into  nine  Congressional  Districts. 

Mr.  BUSCH  offered  a  resolution  to  reduce  the 


number  of  members  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives to  one  hundred. 

Referred  to  Committee  on  Constitution. 

Mr.  SCOTT  offered  the  following  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Finance  be 
instructed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of 
taking  action  for  the  purpose  of  passing  the 
tax  books  for  the  year  1861,  in  the  hands  of 
the  collectors,  to  the  respective  counties. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 


28 


Mr.  HALL,  of  Buchanan,  from  the  Commit- 
tee on  Constitution,  reported  a  bill  to  repeal 
the  seventh  section  of  the  ordinance  providing 
for  abolishing  certain  offices,  reducing  salaries, 
and  testing  the  loyalty  of  persons  in  this  State, 
adopted  by  the  Convention  at  its  last  session. 
The  bill  further  provides  that  all  appointments 
made  in  conformity  to  the  sixth  section  of  the 
ordinance  aforesaid,  shall  be  valid  from  the 
time  said  ordinance  was  adopted,  anything  in 
said  section  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

The  bill  was  laid  on  the  table  and  ordered  to 
be  printed. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  from  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  reported  that  it  was  inexpedient  to 
legislate  in  reference  to  a  bill  introduced  by 
Mr.  EITZEN  to  repeal  an  act  providing  for  the 
election  of  County  Court  Justices  in  Gascon- 
ade county. 

The  report  was  adopted,  and  the  Convention 
adjourned  to  2  o'clock. 


AFTERNOON    SESSION. 
The  Convention  met  at  2  o'clock  p.  M. 

QUALIFICATIONS    OP  VOTERS. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  special  order  being 
the  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Elections  and 
Elective  Franchise,  it  will  now  be  taken  up. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  move  then  to  pass  over  the 
special  order,  inasmuch  as  this  bill  is  very 
lengthy,  and  we  have  not  had  time  to  examine 
it  with  critical  care  since  it  was  laid  upon  our 
tables  ;  and  to  take  up  another  ordinance  re- 
ported by  the  same  committee,"  An  ordinance  to 
repeal  certain  ordinances  submitting  the  action 
of  the  Convention  to  the  people  of  Missouri, 
and  for  other  purposes.5'  It  has  not  been 
printed,  but  it  is  very  short. 

The  PRESIDENT.  I  will  state  that  the  origi- 
nal ordinance  is  in  the  hands  of  the  printer, 
and  it  cannot  be  acted  upon  unless  we  have  the 
original  draft. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  I  hope  we  will  not  pass 
over  the  special  order.  This  bill  was  printed 
and  laid  on  the  desks  of  members  at  11  o'clock 
this  forenoon,  and  ample  time  has  been  given 
members  to  examine  it  closely,  and  I  think  we 
are  as  well  qualified  to  act  upon  it  now  as  we 
shall  be  at  any  other  time. 

Mr.  HOWELL.     Before  the  vote  is  taken,  I 
ask  the    Secretary  of  the  Convention  to  read 
the  title  of  the  ordinance  I  propose  to  take  up 
It  was  reported  by  the  unanimous  consent  of 
the  Convention. 


The  PRESIDENT.  I  will  state  that  the  ordi- 
nance desired  to  be  taken  up  is  not  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Secretary.  It  was  sent  to  the 
printer,  and  has  not  yet  been  returned. 

The  motion  to  postpone  the  special  01  der  was 
lost. 

The  bill  was  then  taken  up,  and,  on  motion 
of  Mr.  BROAPHEAD,  considered  by  sections. 

The  following  is  the  original  draft  of  the 
bill: 

AN  ORDINANCE  DEFINING  THE  QUALIFICA- 
TIONS OF  VOTERS  AND  CIVIL  OFFICERS  IN 
THIS  STATE. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri in  Convention  assembled,  as  follows  : 
SECTION  1.  No  person  who  has,  since  the 
1st  day  of  August,  A.  D.  1861,  taken  up  arms 
against  the  United  States,  or  who  has  since  that 
time  adhered  to  or  given  aid,  assistance  or  en- 
couragement to  those  engaged  in  carrying  on 
the  present  rebellion,  shall  be  qualified  to  hold 
any  office  of  honor,  trust  or  profit  under  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  this  State,  nor  to  vote 
at  any  election  held  under  or  in  pursuance  of 
said  Constitution  and  laws,  from  and  after  the 
passage  of  this  ordinance  :  Provided,  that  the 
General  Assembly  of  this  State  may,  at  any 
time,  repeal  or  modify  this  ordinance,  or  any 
part  thereof,  with  respect  to  such  persons,  and 
upon  such  terms,  whether  by  general  or  special 
act,  as  in  their  judgment  the  best  interests  of 
the  commonwealth  may  require. 

SEC.  2.  No  person  shall  vote  at  any  election 
to  be  hereafter  held  in  this  State,  under  or  in 
pursuance  of  the  Constitution  and  laws  there- 
of, who  shall  not,  in  addition  to  possessing  the 
qualifications  already  prescribed  for  electors, 
previously  take  an  oath  in  form  as  follows, 
namely  :  "  I, ,  do  solemnly  swear  (or  af- 
firm, as  the  case  may  be)  that  I  will  support, 
protect,  and  defend,  the  Constitution  and  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  Slates,  and  the  Consti- 
tution and  Provisional  Government  of  the  State 
of  Missouri,  against  all  enemies  and  opposers? 
whether  domestic  or  foreign  ;  that  I  will  bear 
true  faith,  loyalty,  and  allegiance,  to  the  Uni- 
ted States,  and  will  not,  directly  or  indirectly, 
give  aid,  comfort,  or  countenance,  to  the  ene- 
mies or  opposers  thereof,  or  of  the  Provisional 
Government  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  any  or- 
dinance, law,  or  resolution  of  any  State  Con- 
vention or  Legislature,  or  of  any  order  or  or- 
ganization, secret  or  otherwise,  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding;  and  that  I  do  this  with  a  full 
and  honest  determination,  pledge  and  purpose, 


29 


without  any  mental  reservation  or  evasion  what- 
ever. And  I  do  further  solemnly  swear  (or 
affirm)  that  I  have  not,  since  the  1st  day  of  Au- 
gust, A.  D.  1861,  taken  up  arms,  or  levied  war 
against  the  United  States,  or  against  the  Provi- 
sional Government  of  the  State  of  Missouri : 
So  help  me  God." 

SEC.  3.  It  shall  be  lawful  for  the  judges  of 
elections  to  administer  such  oath  to  all  persons 
offering  to  vote,  and  in  case  of  any  indictment 
or  prosecution  for  perjury  committed  by  false- 
ly voting  or  wilfully  violating  said  oath,  as 
hereinafttr  authorized,  proof  that  any  person 
charged  with  such  crime  has  voted  at  any  elec- 
tion hereafter  to  be  held  in  this  State,  under  the 
Constitution  or  laws  thereof,  shall  be  prima 
facie  evidence  that  the  person  so  proved  to  have 
voted  had  previously  taken  the  oath  prescribed 
by  the  preceding  section. 

SEC.  4.  Any  judge  of  election  who  shall  re- 
ceive or  record,  or  permit  to  be  recorded,  the 
vote  of  any  person  who  shall  not  previously 
have  complied  with  the  provisions  of  the  pre- 
ceding second  section,  shall,  on  conviction 
thereof,  be  adjudged  guiity  of  a  misdemeanor, 
and  shall  be  punished  by  fine  of  not  less  than 
one  hundred  nor  more  than  one  thousand  dol- 
lars, or  by  imprisonment  for  not  exceeding  two 
months,  for  each  offense.  And  if  the  vote  of 
any  person  whatever  shall  be  challenged  for 
either  of  the  causes  mentioned  in  the  first  sec- 
tion of  this  ordinance,  the  judges  of  election 
shall  decide  upon  his  right  to  vote  as  in  other 
cases  of  challenge. 

SEC.  5.  Every  person  who  shall  hereafter  be 
elected  or  appointed  to  any  civil  office  within 
this  State,  under  the  Constitution  and  laws 
thereof,  whether  State,  county,  or  municipal, 
shall,  before  entering  upon  the  duties  of  such 
office,  take  and  subscribe  an  affidavit,  in  form 
as  follows :  "  I,  A.  B.,  do,  on  oath  declare,  (or 
solemnly  affirm,  as  the  case  may  be,)  that  I 
have  not,  during  the  present  rebellion,  taken 
up  arms  or  levied  war  against  the  Unit«d 
States,  nor  against  the  Provisional  Government 
of  the  State  of  Missouri,  nor  given  aid,  com- 
fort, or  countenance,  to  the  enemies  or  oppo- 
sers  of  either,  whether  domestic  or  foreign. 
And  further  :  that  I  will  support,  protect  and 
defend  the  Constitution  and  Government  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  the  State  of  Missouri, 
against  all  enemies  and  opposers,  whether  do- 
mestic or  foreign,  any  ordinance,  law,  or  reso- 
lution, of  any  State  Convention  or  Legislature, 
or  of  any  order  or  organization,  secret  or  oth- 
erwise, to  the  contrary  notwithstanding ;  and 


that  I  do  this  with  an  honest  purpose,  pledge, 
and  determination,  faithfully  to  perform  the 
same,  without  any  mental  reservation  or  eva- 
sion whatever.  And  further  :  that  I  will  faith- 
fully demean  myself  in  office,  and  perform  the 
duties  required  of  me  by  law.'7  Which  affida- 
vit being  filed  by  State  officers  in  the  office  of 
the  Secretary  of  State,  and  by  all  county  and 
other  officers  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the 
County  Court  (or  other  officer  charged  with 
equivalent  duties)  in  the  county  wherein  they 
respectively  reside,  shall  be  a  sufficient  com- 
pliance with  the  existing  requirements  for  oaths 
of  office. 

SEC.  6.  Any  person  who  shall  falsely  take, 
or  having  taken,  shall  thereupon  wilfully  vio- 
late any  oath  prescribed  by  this  ordinance, 
shall,  upon  conviction  thereof  by  any  court  of 
competent  jurisdiction,  be  adjudged  guilt)'  of 
the  crime  of  perjury,  and  shall  be  punished 
therefor  in  accordance  with  existing  laws. 
And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  judges  of  all 
courts  having  criminal  jurisdiction  under  the 
laws  of  this  State,  specially  to  charge  the 
grand  juries  in  tha  counties  in  which  such 
courts  shall  be  held  respectively,  and  of  all 
grand  juries,  in  the  performance  of  their  duties 
under  the  laws  of  this  State,  specially  to  in- 
quire concerning  the  commission  of  any  act  of 
perjury  mentioned  or  made  punishable  by  this 
or  any  other  ordinance  adopted  by  this  Con- 
vention. 

SEC.  7.  The  present  incumbents  of  all  civil 
offices  in  the  State,  except  that  of  Governor, 
Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State, 
shall,  within  forty  days  after  the  passage  of 
this  ordinance,  take  and  subscribe  and  file  in 
the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  County  Court, 
(or  other  officers  charged  by  law  with  corres- 
ponding duties,)  in  their  respective  counties,  in 
which  such  incumbents  reside,  an  oath  of  like 
purport  to  the  affidavit  prescribed  in  the  pre- 
ceding fifth  section  hereof.  It  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  Clerks  of  said  County  Courts,  or 
other  similar  officers,  respectively,  to  notify  the 
Governor,  without  delay,  of  all  cases  wherein 
the  incumbent  of  any  civil  office  hereby  requir- 
ed to  file  such  affidavit  shall  have  failed  to  do 
so  within  the  time  above  limited  ;  and  all  of- 
fices whose  incumbents  shall  so  fail  to  take 
and  file  such  affidavit,  within  said  time,  are 
hereby  declared  vacant ;  and  all  vacancies  so 
occurring  shall  be  filled  in  accordance  with  ex- 
isting laws,  as  in  case  of  vacancy  by  death,  or 
resignation  ;  and  the  failure  of  any  person,  who 
shall  hereafter  be  elected  or  appointed  to  any 


30 


civil  office  in  this  State,  to  take  and  file  the  af- 
fidavit prescribed  by  said  fifth  section  hereof 
within  fifteen  days  after  receiving  the  certifi- 
cate of  his  election  or  appointment,  shall  in 
like  manner  cause  such  office  to  be  vacant, 
which  vacancy  shall  be  filled  in  accordance 
with  existing  laws. 

SEC.  8.  Any  person  now  holding  any  civil 
office  in  the  State,  except  those  of  Governor, 
Lieutenant  Governor  and  Secretary  of  State, 
who  shall  fail  within  the  time  limited  in  the 
last  preceding  section  to  take  and  file  the  affi- 
davit therein  mentioned  and  required  j  and  any 
person  who,  being  hereafter  elected  or  appoint- 
ed to  any  civil  office,  shall  fail  to  qualify  by 
taking  the  oath  prescribed  in  the  fifth  section 
hereof,  within  the  time  limited  in  such  cases 
in  the  last  preceding  section,  but  who  shall, 
after  a  vacancy  thereby  created  in  such  office, 
as  hereinbefore  provided,  attempt  to  exercise 
or  perform  any  of  the  duties,  or  to  enjoy  any 
of  the  rights  or  privileges  thereof,  shall,  upon 
conviction,  be  adjudged  guilty  of  a  misdemea- 
nor, punishable  by  fine  of  not  less  than  three 
hundred  nor  more  than  three  thousand  dollars, 
or  by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  for  not 
exceeding  six  months. 

SEC.  9.  Any  person,  otherwise  a  qualified 
elector  under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  this 
State,  who  has  been  induced  to  levy  war  against 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  or  the 
Provisional  Government  of  this  State,  through 
fraudulent  misrepresentations,  supposed  obli- 
gations of  duty  or  duties,  and  who  has  wholly 
abandoned  all  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  ex- 
Governor  Jackson,  and  the  so-called  govern- 
ment of  the  Confederate  States  of  America, 
shall  be  allowed  to  vote  by  taking  the  following 
oath: 

"  I,  A.  B.,  do  hereby,  on  oath  (or  solemn  af- 
firmation,) deliberately  and  wholly  abjure  all 
duty,  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  ex-Governor 
Jackson  and  the  so-called  government  of 
the  Confederate  States  of  America;  that  I 
will  support,  protect  and  defend  the  Con- 
stitution and  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  Constitution  and  Provision- 
al Government  of  the  State  of  Missouri, 
against  all  enemies  and  opposers,  whether 
domestic  or  foreign ;  that  I  will  bear  true 
faith,  loyalty  and  allegiance  to  the  United 
States,  and  will  not,  directly  or  indirectly, 
give  aid,  comfort,  or  countenance,  to  the  ene- 
mies or  opposers  thereof,  or  the  Provisional 
Government  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  any  or- 
dinance, law,  or  resolution  of  any  State  Con- 


vention or  Legislature,  or  any  order  or  organi- 
zation, local  or  otherwise,  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding ;  and  that  I  do  this  with  a  full  and 
honest  determination,  pledge  and  purpose,  with- 
out any  mental  reservation  or  evasion  whatev- 
er :  So  help  me  God." 

The  Clerk  read  section  one. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  offer  the  following  amendment 
to  this  section :  "  Strike  out  of  the  first  section 
all  after  the  word  '  State,'  in  the  fourth  line,  to 
and  including  the  word  'ordinance'  in  the  sixth 
line,"  and  "amend  the  second  section  by  strik- 
ing out  all  after  the  word  'whatever,'  in  the 
twelfth  line,  and  the  word  'Missouri,'  in  the 
fifteenth  line." 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  The  second  section  is 
not  before  the  house. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  think  I  have  a  right  to  say 
something  on  this  bill  as  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Military  Affairs. 

Mr.  DoNrpHAN.  This  bill  is  not  reported 
from  your  committee,  Governor.  It  is  one  of 
Mr.  McFerran's  offspring. 

Mr.  ORR.  Within  no  period  of  my  life  have 
I  appeared  before  a  body  of  intelligent  men 
laboring  under  so  much  embarrassment  as  I  do 
upon  the  present  occasion.  I  stand  to-day  in 
the  midst  of  the  only  conservative  Convention 
that  has  been  called  since  our  present  difficul- 
ties have  been  rushed  upon  us.  I  stand  in  the 
midst  of  the  only  Convention  that  has  refused 
to  pass  a  secession  ordinance.  I  am  proud, 
therefore,  to  stand  in  the  midst  of  the  only 
Convention  that  has  shown  itself  to  the  world, 
by  its  official  conduct,  as  worthy  of  the  confi- 
dence that  has  been  reposed  in  it  by  the  people 
of  this  State.  While  I  am  proud  to  say  this 
much  for  this  conservative  body,  I  nevertheless 
stand  here  to-day  trembling,  because  I  fear 
this  body  will  be  rushed  into  that  ultraism  that 
will  not  only  ruin  the  people  of  Missouri,  but 
greatly  injure  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  While  our  action  heretofore  has  been 
governed  by  moderation,  there  is  danger  now 
that  we  may  be  governed  by  our  passions  and 
prejudices,  rather  than  by  our  judgment.  I  do 
not  appear  to-day  as  the  advocate  of  individuals 
who  have  tried  to  break  up  the  Government. 
They  are  not  entitled  to  my  advocacy  or  any- 
thing else  at  the  hands  of  the  Convention, 
beyond  that  of  sympathy,  and  when  I  say  this 
I  do  not  want  to  be  understood  as  sympathizing 
with  treason.  But  I  will  say  that  I  have 
sympathy  for  traitors,  as  well  as  rogues  and 
the  meanest  of  God's  creatures.  I  have  none, 
however,  with  treason.  What  do  we  propose 


31 


to  do  in  this  first  section?  We  propose  to  say 
that  no  individual  that  has  been  in  rebellion 
shall  be  allowed  to  vote  at  any  election  in  the 
future,  unless  the  Legislature  of  Missouri 
thinks  proper  to  modify  this  ordinance.  We 
propose  this  as  a  punishment  for  treason,  and 
yet  we  have  no  right  whatever  to  prescribe  the 
punishment  for  treason.  We  have,  however, 
the  right  to  define  treason,  and  there  is  a  proper 
way  by  which  those  guilty  of  that  crime  can 
be  punished. 

What  benefit  then  do  we  expect  to  derive 
from  preventing  those  individuals  from  voting  ? 
We  expect  to  elect  men  loyal  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  and  the  State  of 
Missouri;  and  that  much  is  right,  and  I  do  not 
propose  to  strike  it  out.  Any  individual  that 
has  attempted  to  break  up  the  Government, 
has  no  right,  henceforth  and  forever,  to  help 
administer  its  laws,  and  I  am  perfectly  willing 
that  this  restriction  shall  go  down  to  the  latest 
posterity.  But  we  go  further,  and  say  that  no 
individual  that  has  been  engaged  in  the  rebel- 
lion shall  be  allowed  to  vote.  I  ask  this  Con- 
vention to  think  calmly,  coolly  and  deliberately? 
as  to  the  effect  this  will  have  in  the  community 
in  which  we  live.  Will  we  aid  in  crushing  the 
rebellion  by  so  doing?  if  so,  this  first  section 
should  be  adopted.  But  this  will  not  be  the 
result.  We  are  about  to  use  the  language  of 
the  primitive  secessionists  a  year  ago,  that  is, 
"we  demand  what  is  right,  and  will  take 
nothing  that  is  wrong."  I  hear  men  in  this 
body  that  were  conservative  a  year  ago,  and 
with  whom  1  was  proud  to  act,  saying  that  we 
are  going  to  demand  what  is  right,  and  take 
nothing  that  is  wrong.  I  have  not  been  able  to 
do  that  through  life.  Price's  army  came  to  my 
house  and  robbed  me  of  whatever  they  desired. 
You  would  say,  had  I  been  there  it  would  have 
been  right  to  have  shot  them.  Since  that  time, 
Union  troops,  headed  by  ten  or  fifteen  negroes, 
have  searched  my  house  and  taken  what  they 
wanted.  They  made  my  children  open  every 
room,  while  they  searched  it  and  carried  off 
whatever  pleased  their  fancy.  Would  you  not 
say  I  ought  to  have  shot  them?  Of  course, 
but  to  have  laid  the  smallest  stripe  on  one  of 
those  darkies  would  have  been  equivalent  to 
self-murder.  So  it  is  plain,  we  cannot  always 
get  what  is  right.  Now,  when  we  have  passed 
this  bill,  will  men  lay  down  their  arms  ?  If  so 
I  am  for  it.  There  is  a  large  secession  element 
that  has  been  in  Price's  army.  Do  you  contend 
that  by  the  passage  of  this  law  they  will  become 
peaceable  citizens?  I  cannot  see  it  in  that 


light.  From  the  best  investigation  I  have 
given  the  matter,  you  will,  by  the  passage  of 
this  bill,  force  the  last  man  of  them  into  a  solid 
phalanx,  in  which  desperadoes  will  fight  to  the 
death.  Is  it  the  policy  of  this  Convention,  or 
for  the  interests  of  your  constituents,  to  do 
anything  that  would  cause  such  an  array  of 
opposition  as  that  ?  There  are  individuals  who 
have  been  in  Price's  army  for  the  purpose  of 
stirring  up  insurrection,  and  while  that  is  the 
fact,  there  are  hundreds  of  them  sick  and  tired 
of  the  rebellion,  hoping  that  something  will  be 
done  here  to  keep  Price's  army  from  ever 
coming  back  to  this  State,  and  that  they  may 
be  enabled,  after  a  time,  to  enjoy  the  peace  and 
quiet  of  friends  when  they  return  home.  But 
what  else  ?  Sir,  there  is  not  a  solitary  member 
of  this  Convention  that  has  not  some  relative 
in  the  rebel  army.  It  is  true  that  is  no  reason 
why  we  should  do  wrong,  but  it  is  a  reason 
why  we  should  not  array  this  army  against  us, 
unless  some  good  can  arise  from  it.  We  all 
know  how  individuals  have  been  drawn  or 
forced  info  the  rebel  army.  Who  would  have 
supposed,  a  year  ago,  that  Major  Claib.  Jackson 
and  Sterling  Price  could  have  forced  almost 
one-half  of  the  people  of  Missouri  into  this 
rebellion,  after  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
of  the  people  of  the  State  had  declared  in  favor 
of  the  Union,  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  the 
enforcement  of  the  laws?  Has  there  not  been 
such  an  array  of  force  against  us  as  to  cause  a 
great  deal  of  trouble?  Now,  sir,  what  good 
can  arise  from  excluding  such  a  large  propor- 
tion of  our  population  from  the  ballot-box? 
Why,  sir,  in  excluding  these  individuals  we 
exclude  some  who  ought  never  to  vote,  and  in 
excluding  them,  also,  we  will  exclude  some 
who  have  the  same  right  to  vote  that  you  and  I 
have.  Men  have  been  impelled  into  this  rebel- 
lion by  surrounding  circumstances.  I  know 
how  it  was  in  my  county.  I  knew  many  men 
in  the  Home  Guards  that  were  as  good  Union 
men  as  I  or  any  of  you,  and  they  stood  with 
me  in  the  ranks  of  the  Union  army.  They 
remained  steadfast  to  the  Union  after  the  battle 
of  Wilson's  Creek,  and  until  Fre'mont  went 
back  there.  After  Fremont  retreated  and  left 
them  to  be  again  run  over  by  the  secessionists, 
Price  mounted  the  rostrum  and  said  :  "  Lincoln 
had  to  have  these  men  to  keep  down  rebellion 
in  New  York;  that  they  v/ould  never  return 
again,  and  that  the  only  alternative  left  them 
was  to  help  to  put  down  those  vandals  that 
were  attempting  to  overrun  the  South." 

These  men  were  thus  forced  into  the  Seces- 


32 


sion  ranks,  and  when  our  army  went  back 
again,  many  of  them  ran  off  to  the  South,  fear- 
ing they  would  be  arrested  as  traitors.  Talk 
to  me  about  disfranchising  such  men — young 
men  that  have  been  forced  into  rebellion  by 
false  pretenses,  and  by  the  many  lies,  slanders, 
and  telegrams  circulated  through  the  country  ! 
I  have  a  neighbor  who  was  a  Union  man,  and 
one  of  the  best  men,  in  my  opinion,  we  had  in 
the  county ;  he  is  an  illiterate  man,  and  cannot 
write  his  own  name,  or  read  a  word.  He, 
together  with  his  sons,  joined  the  Home  Guards, 
and  he  remained  firm  for  the  Union  until  Fre- 
mont's army  left,  and  then  he  was  forced — 
believing  the  Union  was  broken  up — believing 
that  because  he  had  seen  the  best  equipped 
army  that  ever  marched  on  the  continent  retreat 
and  forsake  the  people  in  that  region,  without 
any  reason  that  he  could  see — I  say,  he  was 
forced  by  the  secessionists  to  believe  that  the 
whole  thing  was  hopeless,  and  that  his  only 
alternative  was  to  go  with  the  army  that  re- 
mained. Under  this  belief,  he  went  away  with 
the  Southern  army;  and  when  our  men  returned, 
they  burnthis  house  and  destroyed  his  property; 
and  now  must  he  be  disgraced  and  degraded 
forever?  Are  we  to  refuse  protection  to  him, 
and  treat  him  as  an  alien  or  an  outlaw  ?  This 
bill  would  make  us  do  so.  I  am  unwilling  to 
say  that  such  men  shall  be  degraded  for  all 
time  to  come.  But  further,  let  us  pass  this 
bill,  and  we  shall  place  every  individual  that 
has  been  in  the  rebellion,  lower  than  the  crim- 
inal that  is  pardoned  out  of  the  penitentiary 
for  horse  stealing ;  because,  if  there  is  a  crim- 
inal in  the  penitentiary  for  horse  stealing,  and 
Governor  Gamble  pardons  him  out,  he  has  the 
right  to  vote  at  any  future  election.  But  you 
declare  in  this  bill  that  individuals  who  have 
been  engaged  in  the  rebellion  shall  be  placed 
below  the  criminal,  and  shall  not  be  allowed  to 
vote,  no  matter  how  well  they  conduct  them- 
selves. Now,  sir,  if  you  pass  this  bill,  every 
solitary  individual  that  has  taken  up  arms 
against  the  Government  will  never  come  back 
to  this  State,  unless  he  comes  back  to  shoot, 
rob,  murder  and  destroy.  Every  solitary  indi- 
vidual in  the  South  that  has  taken  the  least  part 
in  this  rebellion,  will  be  told  what  Missouri 
has  done.  The  leaders  will  tell  them  that, 
while  our  commanders  offer  them  protection  if 
they  will  lay  down  their  arms,  the  Convention 
of  Missouri  has  gone  so  far  as  to  say  they  shall 
never  be  allowed  to  exercise  the  right  of  citi- 
zenship. There  is  nothing  the  leaders  of  the 
rebellion  so  much  desire  as  action  of  this  sort. 


At  the  present  time  hundreds  are  returning  to 
take  the  oath,  give  bond,  and  lay  down  their 
arms.  They  desire  once  more  to  live  in  peace 
with  their  wives  and  children  ;  but  the  moment 
we  pass  this  bill,  we  force  them  back  again, 
and  Price  will  say,  "well  done,  good  and  faith- 
ful servants,  you  are  doing  the  work  better 
than  I  did  when  I  was  there."  I  am  prepared 
to  say  they  should  never  vote  again,  if  that 
would  make  peace,  but  I  am  unwilling  to  in- 
flict vengeance  upon  anybody  when,  by  so 
doing,  I  inflict  it  upon  my  children,  and  upon 
future  generations.  We  have  had  civil  war 
here  for  a  year,  f  have  suffered,  and  so  have 
you.  I  am  tired  of  it,  and  I  want  to  do  nothing 
that  will  prolong  the  war,  or  cause  unnecessary 
bloodshed.  I  want  the  rebellion  put  down,  but 
I  do  not  want  any  member  of  this  Convention 
to  vote  for  anything  like  the  provision  con- 
tained in  this  bill ;  for  if  we  pass  it,  we  shall 
rush  these  individuals  into  a  solid  phalanx 
against  us.  Is  there  a  man  here  prepared  to 
take  any  action  that  will  lengthen  this  war? 
Before  God,  I  believe  if  we  pass  this  bill  as 
reported,  we  shall  exasperate  these  rebels  so 
that  they  will  prosecute  the  War  until  long  after 
you  and  I  have  gone  to  our  graves.  And  it  is 
because  of  this  conviction  that  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  vote  for  it.  I  do  hope,  trust,  and 
believe,  that  this  body  will  think  and  calmly 
reflect  before  they  do  that  which,  in  my  opinion? 
will  seal  the  destiny  of  this  State  and  country 
for  all  time  to  come. 

I  expect,  after  what  I  say  here  to-day,  that  a 
large  class  of  the  people  will  call  me  a  nullifier. 
When  I  became  a  candidate  for  this  Conven- 
tion, the  secessionists  stigmatized  me  as  an 
abolitionist ;  but  I  intend  to  vote  always  re- 
gardless of  these  epithets,  for  what  I  think  is 
right,  even  though  I  am  called  abolitionist  and 
nullifier  both.  I  came  here  as  a  conservative 
man,  and  I  appeal  to  the  conservative  men  of 
this  Convention  to  reflect  before  they  take  th* 
action  here  proposed.  So  far  as  this  bill  relates 
to  the  candidates  for  office,  I  am  satisfied  with 
it,  and  am  prepared  to  make  it  as  stringent  as 
desirable.  But  there  is  another  provision  in 
this  bill  that  it  may  be  well  to  consider  in  this 
connection.  It  says  no  man  guilty  of  treason 
shall  be  allowed  to  vote.  How  are  you  going 
to  ascertain  whether  he  is  guilty  of  treason  or 
not?  You  are  going  to  challenge  him  before 
he  votes.  I  #o  up  to  the  polls,  and  my  friend 
Leeper  being  present,  says,  that  man  has  been 
in  Price's  army.  How  does  he  know?  Well, 
he  saw  me  there,  or  he  heard  I  was  there,  and 


33 


upon  that  testimony  Ihey  have  the  right  to  jerk  ' 
me  up,  and  I  suppose  they  have  the  right  to 
make  me  swear.     Is  that  the  way  we  are  going 
to  decide  these  important  matters?     The  law  > 
provides  that  any  individual  convicted  of  the  ( 
infamous  crime  of  treason  forfeits  his  right  of  , 
citizenship.     If  we  are  disposed  to  say  that  a  ' 
man  convicted  of  treason  shall  not  be  allowed  ' 
to  vote,  I  am  for  it ;  but  if  you  say  a  person  [ 
simply  charged  with  treason  shall  not  be  allowed 
to  vote,  I  ain  against  it ;  for  I  am  proud  to 
know  that  I  live  in  a  country  where  charge 
and  conviction  do  not  mean  the  same  thing,  j 
Mr.  Leeper  may  be  mistaken.     He  goes  before 
a  magistrate,  infuriated  against  me,  and  swears  ' 
he  saw  me  in  PJ  ice's  army.     That  is  sufficient, 
and  I  have  to  stand  aside.     Now,  I  do  not  want ! 
to  have  charges  got  up  so  easily.     If  I  am  to  be  j 
disqualified  as  a  voter,  I  want  to  have  a  fair 
and  impartial  trial  before  a  jury  of  my  country  ; 
and  then  if  I  am  disgraced  and  found  guilty  of 
treason,  why,  then  stigmatize  me  as  I  deserve. 

Again,  this  ordinance  excludes  all  who  have 
given  aid  and  comfort,  directly  or  indirectly, 
to  the  rebellion.  I  do  not  know  but  that  they 
may  attempt  to  exclude  me  from  the  polls 
under  that  provision.  When  I  was  at  Holla, 
I  arrested  one  of  my  neighbor's  negroes  and 
endeavored  to  send  him  home,  but  I  was  ar- 
rested myself  for  doing  no  more  than  what  I 
considered  my  duty,  and  I  think  it  probable 
the  very  men  who  caused  my  arrest  would  en- 
deavor to  exclude  me  from  the  polls  on  the 
plea  that  I  gave  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy. 
What  sort  of  a  precedent  is  it  to  say  that  every 
man  who  has  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemy 
shall  be  disfranchised,  without  first  giving  a 
definition  as  to  what  aid  and  comfort  is.  The 
soldiers  in  Price's  army  consumed  a  good  por- 
tion of  my  substance.  They  quartered  their 
sick  at  my  house  and  my  wife  took  care  of 
them,  and  their  contagious  diseases  prostrated 
my  whole  family.  Yet,  under  this  ordinance, 
that  might  be  considered  as  giving  aid  and 
comfort  to  the  enemy. 

I  am  opposed  to  this  proposed  action  there- 
fore, and  I  hope  this  Convention  will  not  launch 
out  upon  the  sea  of  uncertainty,  but  that  they 
will  think  about  the  effect  of  this  bill  before 
they  vote  for  it. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  propose,  Mr.  President, 
to  make  a  few  remarks  upon  the  subject.  I 
hope  there  will  be  a  further  discussion  upon 
this  question,  and  presume  there  will  be  ;  and 
I  would  rather  have  heard  further  the  reasons 

3 


which  may  be  urged  in  favor  of  this  proposi- 
tion; but  as  I  do  not  see  any  one  rising  to  dis- 
cuss it,  and  having  been  not  only  on  the  com- 
mittee that  reported  the  ordinance,  but  proba- 
bly the  member  of  that  committee  with  whose 
views  this  ordinance  especially  coincided,  I 
shall,  therefore,  ask  the  attention  of  the  Con- 
vention for  a  few  moments.  I  must  say  I  was 
surprised  to  hear  my  friend  from  Green  take 
the  view  that  he  did  of  this  subject.  I  know 
he  is  sincere  in  all  his  views,  and  I  know  there 
is  no  more  patriotic  man  than  he  is  in  the 
State.  His  position,  his  trials,  his  personal 
losses  since  the  rebellion  commenced,  show 
this  to  be  the  fact.  But  I  am  obliged  to  differ 
with  him  in  regard  to  this  ordinance.  As  I 
understand  that  gentleman's  objections,  they 
are  embraced  under  these  heads  :  He  admits, 
in  the  first  place,  (and  I  am  glad  of  that,  for  it 
saves  argument  which  I  hardly  think  would 
be  requiredj  that  this  proposition  is  a  just  one, 
and  that  as  far  as  the  rebels  are  concerned,  or 
as  far  as  the  class  reached  by  the  ordinance  is 
concerned,  there  is  no  reason  why  they  should 
not  be  subject  to  this  provision.  At  the  same 
time  a  portion  of  my  friend's  remarks  I  thought 
implied  a  misapprehension  of  its  nature.  This 
provision  is  not  urged  as  a  punishment  for 
treason.  It  is  true  the  law  provides  a  punish- 
ment for  treason,  and  it  is  not  inappropriate 
to  remember  what  the  punishment  is.  Refer- 
ence to  the  "  act  concerning  crimes  and  pun- 
ishments "  in  the  statutes  of  Missouri  shows 
that  for  the  act  of  treason  itself,  death,  or  im- 
prisonment in  the  penitentiary  for  not  less  than 
ten  years,  is  the  punishment.  Then  it  goes  on 
to  treat  of  misprision  of  treason,  and  also  of  the 
giving  aid  and  comfort  to  it,  and  so  through 
every  grade  of  the  offense,  and  in  the  most 
elaborate  and  explicit  terms  puts  the  ban  of  the 
law  upon  not  only  active,  but  incipient  disloy- 
alty. It  further  provides  that  a  man  convicted 
of  any  offense  of  the  nature  spoken  of  shall  be 
forever  incompetent  to  serve  upon  a  jury,  vote, 
or  hold  any  office.  As  far  as  the  nature  of 
this  ordinance  is  concerned,  if  it  were  intended 
as  a  punishment  for  treason,  it  is  precisely 
equivalent  to  that  which  is  provided  by  law, 
and  that  which  every  man  engaged  in  this  re- 
bellion knew  he  encountered  the  risk  of  when 
he  began.  It  is  manifest,  then,  that  this  is  a 
perfectly  just  ordinance,  as  far  as  the  rebels 
are  concerned. 

But  the  argument  of  the  gentleman  from 
Green  was  based  upon  expediency,  and  I  will 


34 


take  it  upon  that  ground.  Now,  sir,  I  desire 
to  say  that  this  proposition  is  not  prompted  by 
any  vindictive  feeling  toward  the  rebels.  It 
does  not  spring  from  any  want  of  a  just  or 
proper  sympathy,  nor  any  want  of  the  deepest 
regret  that  our  fellow  citizens  should  have  been 
so  inflamed,  or  so  ambitious,  so  misguided  by 
their  evil  passions,  or  by 'the  more  evil  words 
and  actions  of  others,  as  to  engage  in  this  re- 
bellion There  is  no  lack  of  this  regret,  I  am 
sure,  on  the  part  of  this  House,  or  any  of  its 
members.  But,  the  question  presented  to  us, 
Mr.  President,  is  simply  a  question  of  self- 
preservation  ;  and  it  is  on  that  ground,  I  ap- 
prehend, this  Convention  is  called  to  act.  We 
represent  the  interest  of  the  State  of  Missouri 
— the  loyal  State  of  Missouri — and  we  are  to 
see  to  it  that  those  interests  which  the  armed 
hand  of  rebellion  has  in  vain  assailed,  shall  not 
be  paralyzed  by  the  secret  but  no  less  deadly 
hand  of  treason  in  any  other  form. 

The  objections  of  the  gentleman  were  ar- 
ranged in  a  manner,  which  I  may  state  as  fol- 
lows :  First,  the  effect  of  the  ordinance  would 
be  to  deprive  many  men  of  the  elective  fran- 
chise who  were  not  willing  aiders  and  abettors 
of  the  rebellion — men  who,  by  compulsion,  or 
despairingly,  as  in  the  case  of  the  friend  of 
whom  the  gentleman  spoke,  took  part  in  the 
rebellion. 

Second,  that  those  who  were  actively  en- 
gaged in  it  will  be  by  this  act  disgraced  and 
driven  out  of  the  State,  and  that  no  man,  who 
has  already  gone  South,  will  ever  come  back 
again  to  Missouri.  I  confess  that  proposition 
did  not  alarm  me  in  the  least.  I  confess  that 
when  he  declared  that  the  effect  of  this  ordi- 
nance will  be  to  keep  out  of  Missouri  that  class 
of  men  who  have  joined  and  are  now  fighting 
in  the  rebel  army,  it  was  not  a  disagreeable 
statement  at  all.  But  he  contended  that  there 
are  many  of  these  men  who  have  come  back 
"  sick  and  tired  of  this  rebellion,"  and  are  will- 
ing to  give  it  up — for  reasons  best  known  to 
themselves — and  they  would  be  disgraced  and 
degraded  lower  than  the  common  felon ;  for, 
said  he,  the  Governor  may  pardon  a  felon,  but 
it  depends  upon  the  Legislature  to  grant  par- 
don in  this  case,  and  they  may  never  exercise 
it  in  regard  to  these  men. 

Again,  the  matter  was  mentioned  of  a  chal- 
lenge at  the  polls.  The  gentleman  intimated 
that  a  challenge  at  the  polls  and  the  decision 
of  the  judges  was  liable  to  disfranchise  men 
who  were  really  entitled  to  vote.  And  my 
friend  said  he  himself,  by  false  swearing,  or  an 


improper  challenge,  might  be  disfranchised. 

|  And  finally  he  appealed  to  the  conservatism  of 
this  body,  that  we  should  not  now  be  driven 
into  any  ultraism. 

Now,  in  regard  to  these  objections,  I  have  to 
say,  first,  that  it  seems  to  me  not  one  of  them 
touches  the  real  point  in  this  ordinance,  or  the 
real  motive  for  adopting  it.  I  am  perfectly 

j  willing  to  admit  at  the  outset — and  it  is  only 
admitting  the  fallibility  of  all  human  judg- 
ment and  instrumentalities — that  no  rule  can 
be  adopted  or  law  passed,  which  may  not  in- 

,  volve  men  who,  if  their  special  merits  were 
presented,  we  might  be  willing  in  those  specific 

.  cases  to  save  from  the  operations  of  the  general 
rule.  But  at  the  same  time  I  know  no  way  in 

|  which  these  special  cases  can  be  saved,  without 
destroying  the  more  importantgeneralrule.  We 
must  act  on  the  general  probability  and  with  a 
view  to  the  general  effect.  If  we  choose  to 
stultify  ourselves  by  searching  for  and  looking 
only  at  the  "  hard  cases,"  and  the  exceptions, 
we  lose  sight  of  the  true  principle  which  ought 
to  be  invoked.  liake  it  that  these  exceptional 
cases  will  exist.  But  it  is  still  true  that  the 
general  results  to  be  accomplished  will  over- 
balance these  individual  cases,  and,  therefore, 
the  argument  of  the  gentleman  falls  to  the 
ground.  Now,  in  regard  to  that  whole  line  of 
argument,  I  may  say  I  have  heard  it  frequently. 
Men  have  come  back  who  were  heretofore 
citizens,  and  represented  themselves  sincerely 

I  repentant.  It  may  be  true,  I  believe  it  to  be 
true,  that  there  are  men  in  the  State  who  took 
up  arms  against  the  Government  honestly  be- 

;  lieving  they  were  doing  their  duty.  But  were 
they  not  responsible  for  their  belief  ?  And 
however  sincere  they  may  be  in  their  repent- 
ance, can  we  in  justice  say  they  are  innocent, 
or  that  their  offense  must  be  overlooked,  be- 
cause they  did  not  commit  it  under  circum- 
stances of  as  much  provocation  as  others  ? 

But  further.  Will  any  man  undertake  to 
say  that  a  majority  of  those  who  have  taken 
up  arms  and  have  given  aid  and  comfort  to  this 
rebellion  are  sincerely  repentant,  and  are  now 
Union  men  ?  How  many  are  there  who,  if 
Ihey  are  now  "  loyal  men,"  it  is  because  they 
find  it  pays  ?  How  many  whose  repentance 
is  like  that  of  a  man  who  is  sincerely  sorry  be- 
cause he  went  into  an  unprofitable  speculation 
— yet  would  stand  ready  to  do  the  same  thing 
to-morrow  with  the  assurance  of  success  ?  Do 
you  believe  that  these  men  have  been  convin- 


ced of  the  wickedness  of  their  action,  and  of  the 
fact  that  they  were  wrong;  that  they  ought 


35 


not  to  have  taken  up  arms  at  all ;  that  Jackson 
has  done  wrong ;  and  that  all  the  leaders  of 
the  rebellion  have  committed  a  crime,  as  well 
as  an  injury?  Will  gentlemen  undertake  to 
say  that  through  all  those  disloyal  counties 
where  we  now  still  hear  of  murders,  robberies, 
and  bushwhacking,  these  men  are  quiet  and 
peaceable  from  principle  and  not  merely  be- 
cause they  must  ?  I  heard  to-day  that  in  the 
western  part  of  this  State  half  a  dozen  outrages 
had  been  committed  within  a  week  past  that 
have  not  been  reported  in  the  papers  at  all ; 
and  yet  the  prime  movers  of  these  outrages 
are,  most  of  them,  living  at  home,  satisfied 
that  the  fate  of  Missouri  is  sealed,  as  the  phrase 
has  it. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  am  ready  to  say  I  am 
not  willing  to  trust  one  of  these  men  at  the 
August  election,  or  to  give  them  an  opportu- 
nity to  control  the  destinies  of  Missouri.  They 
may  come  to  me  and  show  signs  of  repentance, 
but  the  fever  fit  is  not  gone,  and  it  is  contrary 
to  the  dictates  of  common  sense  to  invite  men 
who  have  come  back  here,  and  are  yet  hardly 
rested  from  their  armed  effort  against  the  Gov- 
ernment— to  invite  them  to  use  against  it  the 
still  more  potent  weapon  of  the  ballot.  Now, 
if  there  is  a  large  enough  class  of  these  men,  if 
you  please,  to  hold  the  balance  of  power  in  this 
or  that  county,  to  put  one  man  rather  than 
another  into  office,  then  I  say,  on  that  ground 
alone,  we  would  be  committing  suicide  by  per- 
mitting such  a  class  to  vote. 

But  the  gentleman  from  Green,  says  the 
passage  of  this  bill  will  drive  out  of  the  State 
a  certain  class  of  men,  and  that  it  will  exas- 
perate a  certain  other  class.  Now  I  may  men- 
tion a  simple  fact  in  relation  to  this.  We  all 
know,  that  at  the  late  spring  elections  in  Mis- 
souri, an  oath  of  loyalty  prescribed  by  order  of 
General  Halleck  was  administered  to  every 
voter,  and  we  know  that  it  came  at  a  time 
when  the  success  of  the  Union  arms  was  not 
so  decided  as  it  has  since  been,  and  that  coming 
at  such  a  time  it  was  peculiarly  repulsive.  I 
speak  from  my  own  observation  of  its  effect  in 
St.  Louis.  At  the  elections  held  there  many 
men  refused  to  vote  at  all,  because  of  this  oath. 
It  would  seem  that  this  oath  ought  to  have  il- 
lustrated the  dangers  so  earnestly  predicted. 
And  yet  this  is  the  first  intimation  I  have 
heard  that  the  administering  of  such  an  oath 
would  either  drive  out  or  exasperate  men,  or 
stir  up  civil  war.  Such  an  oath  is  a  wise  pre- 
caution, and  it  is  a  penalty  which  every  man 
arrayed  against  his  Government  had  every 


reason  to  expect  and  did  expect.  The  fact  IB 
simply  that  those  who  could  not  take  the  oath 
did  not  vote,  and  there  was  the  end  of  it. 

In  regard  to  the  challenge  at  the  polls, 
to  which  the  gentleman  alludes,  I  confess  I 
cannot  see  the  force  of  the  argument.  It  is  in- 
consistent. It  has  the  effect  of  denouncing  the 
whole  system  of  challenging  at  the  polls. 

According  to  his  idea,  every  man  disquali- 
fied from  voting  in  any  manner  whatever  ought 
to  have  that  fact  ascertained  by  a  jury ;  yet,  at 
every  election,  voters  are  turned  away  by  the 
judges  upon  challenge  and  proof  before  them. 
And  it  is  perfectly  just,  since  all  their  other 
qualifications  are  tested  in  this  manner,  that 
this  disqualification,  which,  of  all  others,  is 
most  likely  to  be  notorious,  and  which  of  all 
others,  a  man's  neighbors,  the  judges  of  the 
election  themselves,  are  likely  to  know  of  their 
own  knowledge — that  this  should  be  submitted 
to  the  same  test  as  the  others.  I  do  not  think 
that,  so  far  as  this  argument  is  concerned,  fur- 
ther remark  is  needed. 

The  gentleman  has  a  great  regard  for  the 
conservatism  of  this  body.  There  is  a  great 
power  in  the  use  of  words,  as  this  rebellion 
shows.  If  you  choose  to  stand  still  because 
you  are  afraid  to  make  an  advance — if  that  is 
the  definition  of  conservatism,  it  does  not  suit 
my  principles.  To  use  a  homely  illustration  : 
A  man  upon  the  battle-field  has  his  arm  shat- 
tered by  a  bullet,  and  a  consultation  of  sur- 
geons is  called.  One,  careless,  or  worse,  advi- 
ses to  do  nothing  at  all — "  let  it  alone."  Anoth- 
er, unwilling  to  inflame  or  exasperate,  advi- 
ses to  apply  gentle  medicaments  and  lotions,  to 
deal  with  it  tenderly,  but  by  no  means  to  excite 
the  unfortunate  sufferer.  While  a  third,  seeing 
clearly  the  danger  of  the  wound,  and  the  greater 
danger  of  trifling  with  it,  wisely  and  firmly  de- 
clares, "your  arm  must  be  taken  off,  or  you 
are  a  dead  man  in  two  hours  I"  Which  is  the 
conservative  man  then  ?  Is  he  not  the  truly 
conservative  man  who  is  ready  to  inflict  phys- 
ical pain,  anguish  and  mutilation  of  the  human 
frame  in  order  to  save  the  man's  life  ?  That 
is  the  sort  of  conservatism  I  advocate.  No  man, 
it  seems  to  me,  can  avoid  the  idea  that  we  must 
apply  such  a  remedy  as  this  ordinance  propo- 
ses. It  is  but  doing  that  which,  in  ordinary 
and  peaceable  times,  the  process  of  the  law  is 
intended  to  do,  and  which  only  under  extraor- 
dinary circumstances  it  fails  to  do.  When 
Ilalleck  and  McClellan  succeed  in  shattering 
the  military  power  of  the  rebellion,  then  what 
have  we  done  ?  We  have  got  to  where  we 


36 


started  from — to  where  the  majesty  of  the  law 
may  vindicate  itself.  When  we  get  there,  ; 
what  still  remains  to  be  done  ?  Is  there  not 
still  the  duty  of  providing  for  the  future  ? 
What  is  this  rebellion  ?  It  is  a  contest  for  po- 
litical power,  and  however  men  may  differ,  as 
they  do,  as  to  this  or  that  being  the  cause  of 
the  rebellion,  we  know  that  but  for  the  failure 
of  the  leaders  to  retain  power  —  but  for  their 
infamous  use  of  it  while  they  did  retain  it — but 
for  their  desperate  efforts  to  prevent  it  from 
slipping  from  their  clutch,  in  which  they  laid 
hold  of  the  negro  question  as  the  most  inflam- 
matory and  available  means  which  they  could 
use — but  for  these,  and  these  alone,  the  rebel- 
lion would  never  have  existed.  How  was  the 
power  so  much  desired  to  be  maintained  ?  By 
holding  office.  And  how  were  these  offices  to 
be  obtained  and  kept?  By  votes.  And,  as  a 
matter  of  common  sense,  how  will  you  strike 
at  the  root  of  this  thing — in  other  words,  how 
will  you  prevent  disloyal  men  from  holding 
office  1  I  should  be  glad  to  believe  that  disloy- 
al men  would  always  vote  for  loyal  men.  I 
should  be  glad  to  believe  that  such  men  as  my 
friend  from  Green,  Gov.  Gamble,  and  others, 
who  have  from  the  first  opposed  traitors,  would 
be  selected  by  those  who  have  all  this  time 
been  trying  to  destroy  them,  to  fill  the  offices 
and  administer  the  government  of  this  State  ; 
but  does  my  friend  expect  that  magnan- 
imity ? 

There  are  men  in  this  State  who  can  and  will 
safely  take  the  oath  proposed  for  civil  officers — 
men  whose  cowardice  or  superior  shrewdness 
alone  has  kept  them  at  home — men  who  have 
sympathized  with  and  aided  the  rebellion,  but 
so  secretly  that  no  man  can  prove  it.  Does 
not  my  friend  know  such  men  ?  Does  he  not 
know  men  who  were  active  and  noisy  se- 
cessionists in  the  beginning  of  the  movement, 
before  a  blow  was  struck — whose  violent  lan- 
guage, (not  then  treasonable,  perhaps,  because 
the  armed  resistance  had  not  commenced,)  de- 
ceived and  maddened  thousands  into  guilty  acts, 
and  yet  who  themselves  have  prudently  shrunk 
from  the  storm  they  have  raised,  and  though 
the  worst  of  traitors  at  heart,  may  safely  swear 
that  they  have  committed  no  act  of  treason? 
Now,  sir,  when  elections  are  held  again,  will 
these  men  be  any  less  anxious  for  office— will 
they  not  seek  it  as  eagerly,  though  no  doubt 
more  cunningly,  than  before  ?  And  will  not 
my  friend's  amendment  enable  such  men  to  be 
elected  to  office?  For  myself,  I  say  plainly 
that  this  is  a  class  of  men  whom  I  am  both 


unwilling  and  afraid  to  trust.  Suppose  such 
men  in  office — what  comes  next?  How  long 
before,  in  the  interest  of  disloyalty  itself,  they 
will  agitate  the  repeal  of  all  that  is  left  of  this 
ordinance  ?  We  can  easily  foresee  their  argu- 
ments and  appeals — they  will  too  much  resem- 
ble those  which  we  now  hear  for  the  first  step. 
They,  too,  will  invoke  conservatism  and  sym- 
pathy, and  the  like.  They  will  inveigh  against 
the  cruelty  of  so  disgracing  and  branding  men 
like  common  felons — men  who,  to  be  sure,  have 
committed  treason,  and  aided  to  bring  us  into 
all  these  calamities,  but  who  are  very  sorry  for 
it  now.  I  need  not  follow  the  steps,  faciles 
descensus,  in  this  as  in  some  other  matters. 
But  the  result  soon  enough  may  be  that  the 
government  of  this  State  will  be  again  in 
the  hands  of  the  very  men,  or  their  sympathi- 
zers and  abettors,  who  have  brought  us  into  all 
these  calamities,  through  their  own  unhallowed 
lust  of  power. 

In  conclusion,  I  warn  gentlemen  against 
striking  out  this  provision,  [that  disfranchising 
rebel  voters.]  It  is  in  its  nature  temporary. 
The  Legislature  has  the  power  to  modify  it 
whenever  they  believe  the  best  interests  of  the 
State  require  it  to  be  done,  and  my  own  belief 
is  that  that  body,  under  the  pressure  of  just 
such  appeals  as  are  now  made,  will  act  in  the 
matter  as  early  or  even  earlier  than  will  be  en- 
tirely safe  tinder  the  circumstances,  and  that 
they  will  modify  this  restriction.  I  warn  gen- 
tlemen that  thousands  of  these  rebels  through- 
out this  State  are  yet  living  in  the  hope  that, 
some  day,  there  will  be  a  triumph  for  them — 
that  they  still  cling  desperately,  and  with  fell 
and  rankling  purposes,  to  the  shadow  of  that 
hope  which  has  thus  far  eluded  their  grasp.  I 
say  again,  that  unless  we  throw  over  entirely 
that  class  of  men,  we  may  as  well  make  up  our 
minds  that,  within  two  years  from  this  day, 
this  State  may  be — I  do  not  say  it  will  be,  but 
we  must  look  dangers  in  the  face — in  the  hands 
of  a  class  of  men  differing  in  no  particular  from 
those  we  have  already  sent  from  these  halls. 
Sir,  I  hope,  for  the  safety  and  welfare  of  this 
State,  that  this  provision  will  not  be  stricken 
out.  To  my  mind  it  involves  no  less  a  conse- 
quence than  the  danger,  the  great  and  obvious 
danger,  of  paralyzing  the  Union  party,  the  dan- 
ger of  weakening  if  not  destroying  the  confi- 
dence of  our  own  friends  in  the  vigor,  the 
soundness  and  the  courage  of  this  body  itself. 
The  danger  of  undoing  by  our  mistaken  and 
uncalled  for  "clemency,"  all  that  has  been  won 
by  the  efforts,  the  hardships  and  the  valor  of 


37 


the  brave  men  who  have  fought  and  won  the 
battles  of  the  Union. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  I  propose  the  ninth  section 
of  the  bill  as  a  substitute  for  the  amendment 
of  the  gentleman  from  Green.  I  desire  to  give 
my  reasons  for  offering  that  amendment. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  It 
occurs  to  me  the  substitute  is  not  such  an  one 
as  parliamentary  proceedings  allow.  The  gen- 
tleman from  Green  has  made  a  motion  to  strike 
out.  Now,  sir,  I  do  not  understand  the  gentle- 
man has  any  right  to  offer  an  amendment  to 
the  motion  to  strike  out,  in  the  shape  of  a  sub- 
stitute. The  proposition  before  the  Convention 
is  a  different  one  entirely,  and  I  do  not  under- 
etand  that  the  motion  to  strike  out  can  be  in- 
terfered with  in  the  way  of  a  substitute. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  I  do  not  appreciate  exactly 
the  reason  the  gentleman  has  stated.  I  offer 
it  as  a  substitute  for  the  gentleman's  amend- 
ment. I  understand  I  have  the  right  to  offer  a 
substitute. 

Mr.  HALL,  of  Buchanan.  It  is  the  rule  of 
parliamentary  law  that  you  may  always  pro- 
pose to  perfect  a  proposition  before  the  vote  is 
taken. 

The  PRESIDENT.    That  is  the  rule. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  would  like  to  know,  be- 
fore the  question  is  decided,  in  what  connection 
the  amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Livingston  will  come  in? 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  It  comes  in  immediately 
after  the  word  "require,"  in  the  first  section. 
It  is  in  effect  adding  the  ninth  section  to  the 
first  section. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  gentleman  can  amend 
the  amendment,  but  he  cannot  amend  the  sec- 
tion. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  Very  well.  I  will  offer 
it  as  perfecting  the  section. 

Mr.  BROWN.  I  understand  the  sections  are 
to  be  voted  upon  in  order,  but  it  is  here  propos- 
ed to  add  the  first  and  ninth  together. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  I  desire  to  add  the  ninth 
section  to  the  first  simply  to  perfect  the  section. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  What  becomes  of  the 
motion  of  the  gentleman  from  Green  ? 

The  PRESIDENT.  That  will  be  acted  upon 
when  this  section  is  perfected. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  Do  I  understand  the 
ninth  section  is  now  before  the  Convention  ? 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  Not  at  all.  The  amend- 
ment of  the  gentleman  from  Green  is  before 
the  house. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  rise  to  another  question  of 
order — whether  any  gentleman  has  the  right, 


by  calling  his  proposition  perfecting  a  section, 
to  offer  it  within  parliamentary  law?  Does 
the  Chair  understand  that  it  is  parliamentary, 
after  the  Committee  have  reported  this  propo- 
sition and  do  not  ask  to  perfect  it,  for  an  outsi- 
der to  come  in,  and,  under  the  plea  of  perfect- 
ing the  section,  offer  a  proposition  which  does 
not  in  reality  do  what  it  proposes  to  do  ? 

The  PRESIDENT.  This  Convention  is  now 
considering  this  ordinance  as  in  committee  of 
the  whole,  and  the  Chair  holds  that  it  is  in  or- 
der for  any  member  to  perfect  any  section  be- 
fore the  vote  is  taken  on  the  adoption  of  that 
section.  Now  the  gentleman  from  Green  pro- 
poses to  strike  out  a  part  of  the  section,  and 
the  gentleman  from  Livingston  desires  that  the 
section  may  be  perfected  (in  his  judgment) 
before  the  vote  is  taken ;  and  I  think  he  has 
the  right  to  offer  such  a  proposition.  It  will 
be  for  the  Convention  to  judge  whether  the 
matter  offered  by  the  gentleman  is  a  perfection 
of  the  section  or  otherwise. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  desire  to  suggest  to  the 
Chair  that  if  the  proposition  of  the  gentleman 
from  Green  were  a  substitute  for  the  section, 
then  it  would  be  proper  for  the  gentleman  from 
Livingston  to  perfect  this  section  before  the 
taking  of  the  vote ;  but  it  is  not  offered  as  a 
substitute,  but  as  an  amendment,  and  one 
amendment  cannot  be  postponed  by  the  other. 
I  have  no  objection  to  seeing  this  perfected,  as 
the  gentleman  from  Livingston  suggests.  It 
seems  to  me  that  unless  the  proposition  of  the 
gentleman  from  Green  is  a  substitute  for  the 
whole  section,  which  it  is  not,  but  simply  an 
amendment,  then  it  will  have  to  be  first  voted 
upon. 

The  PRESIDENT.  If  the  gentleman  does  not 
desire  to  interfere  with  the  amendment  of  the 
gentleman  from  Green,  he  can  accomplish  his 
object  by  offering  his  amendment  after  the  first 
amendment  is  disposed  of. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  I  cannot  vote  intelligently 
nor  satisfactorily  to  myself  on  the  amendment 
of  the  gentleman  from  Green  until  the  section 
is  properly  perfected.  I  introduced  this  amend- 
ment for  the  purpose  of  perfecting  the  original 
section.  It  seems  to  me  these  two  sections 
ought  not  to  be  separated.  The  first  section 
provides  that  every  man  who  has  taken  up 
arms  shall  be  prohibited  from  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, while  the  ninth  section  provides  that  ev- 
ery man  may  vote  on  taking  a  certain  oath. 
Now,  sir,  I  do  not  know  how  to  get  on  with 
the  first  section  until  I  know  how  the  house 
will  act  on  the  ninth  section.  Upon  the  first 


38 


question,  as  to  whether  every  man  should  be 
excluded  who  has  given  aid  or  comfort,  I  am 
opposed  to  it.  I  am  not,  sir,  in  favor  of  exclu- 
ding everybody.  I  believe  there  are  good  men 
who  have  gone  into  the  Southern  army  who 
have  been  deceived.  I  believe  there  are  good 
men  who  will  come  under  the  nintli  section, 
who  have  been  misled  by  false  misrepresenta- 
tions, or  forced  by  duress,  into  the  ranks  of 
the  Southern  army.  Such  men  ought  to  come 
under  the  ninth  section,  and  be  exempted  from 
the  general  sweeping  clause  that  all  should  be 
prohibited  from  voting  who  have  gone  with  the 
Southern  army.  Before  I  act  on  the  first  sec- 
tion, 1  desire  to  know  how  the  house  will  act 
on  the  ninth  section. 

The  PRESIDENT.  I  will  suggest  this  to  the 
gentleman  from  Green,  that  if  he  will  withdraw 
his  amendment  for  a  moment  until  we  can  dis- 
pose of  this  matter,  he  can  then  renew  it  after 
the  vote  is  taken. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  cannot  withdraw  the  amend- 
ment. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  will  remind  the  gentle- 
man from  Livingston  that  his  vote  at  this  time 
is  not  binding.  Suppose  the  amendment  of 
the  gentleman  from  Green  is  adopted  in  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  ?  When  it  is  reported  to 
the  Convention  the  gentleman  can  then  vote 
understandingly.  He  can  then  change  his  vote 
on  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from 
Green  if  he  desires. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  It  seems  to  me  the  section 
is  incomplete  as  it  stands.  It  is  an  absolute 
prohibit:on.  I  am  opposed  to  that. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  Chair  decides  the  pro- 
position of  the  gentleman  out  of  order. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  It  strikes  me  the  gentleman 
can  attain  his  object  by  changing  his  motion  so 
as  to  propose  to  amend  after  the  word  "  ordi- 
nance," in  the  sixth  line.  It  would  then  come 
in  as  an  amendment  to  the  amendment. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  The  proposition  then  is 
this:  The  gentleman  from  Green  moves  to 
strike  out  certain  words  ;  the  proposition  of 
the  gentleman  from  Daviess  (Mr.  McFerran) 
is  to  retain  the  words,  and  add  something  to 
them. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  do  not  propose  to  retain 
the  words  but  to  add. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  two  amendments  con- 
flict with  each  other. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  The  gentleman  from  Da- 
viess moves  to  retain  the  words,  and  of  course 
it  would  be  inconsistent. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.    I  do  not  propose  to  retain 


I  the  words,  but  to  amend  the  portion  proposed 
to  be  stricken  out. 

Mr.  WELCH.  In  what  condition  will  this 
section  be  if  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman 
from  Livingston  (Mr.  Woolfolk)  is  adopted, 
and  this  question  comes  up  as  an  amendment 
to  an  amendment1? 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  There  will  be  no  trouble 
about  it. 

Mr.  WELCH.  A  part  will  be  stricken  out 
and  a  part  retained.  The  gentleman  will  find 
he  cannot  do  it. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  move  the  section  be  read 
and  the  amendment  also,  and  then  we  will 
know  what  we  are  talking  about. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  proposition  of  the 
gentleman  from  Green  is  to  strike  out  certain 
words.  The  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from 
Livingston,  therefore,  is  incompatible  as  an 
amendment  to  the  amendment,  and,  therefore, 
is  out  of  order.  The  question  is  on  agreeing  to 
the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Green. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  I  agree  that  we 
ought  to  do  nothing  in  the  Convention  for  the 
purpose  of  indulging  malice  or  ill-will  to  any 
set  of  men.  If  the  proposition  before  this  Con- 
vention were  a  proposition  simply  to  gratify 
any  malice  which  we  may  have  against  those 
who  brought  upon  us  this  terrible  civil  war,  I  ad- 
mit that  it  would  be  an  improper  one.  But  it  is 
equally  our  duty  to  do  everything  necessary  to 
preserve  the  peace  and  loyalty  of  this  State 
that  can  be  done  ;  it  is  our  duty  to  hesitate  at 
nothing  that  may  be  necessary  to  secure  that 
important  object.  Now  what  have  we  already 
done  in  this  direction  ?  Because  the  late  Gov- 
ernor of  this  State  was  disloyal  and  waged  war 
against  the  United  States,  we  deposed  him,  and 
deposed  a  multitude  of  other  civil  officers  for 
the  same  reason.  It  is  now  our  duty  to  see 
that  the  State  Government  continues  loyal,  or 
our  war  fails  to  accomplish  the  work  we  intend- 
ed it  to  accomplish.  We  had  better  have  done 
nothing  ;  better  have  let  Jackson  remain  in  of- 
fice, and  let  the  military  have  control  of  the 
State,  than  stop  short  of  anything  less  than 
permanent  loyalty  and  peace.  What  is  neces- 
sary in  order  keep  Missouri  loyal  ?  It  is  ne- 
cessary to  see  that  the  officers  of  Missouri  are 
loyal :  and  it  is  a  self-evident  proposition  that 
if  the  constituents  are  disloyal  the  representa- 
tives will  be  disloyal  also.  You  might  as  well 
expect  sweet  Avaters  to  gush  from  bitter  foun- 
tains, as  to  expect  loyal  representatives  to  come 
from  disloyal  voters.  An  oath  of  loyalty  for 
the  candidate  amounts  to  nothing.  There  is 


39 


not  an  officer  engaged  in  this  rebellion  but  who 
was  bound  by  an  oath  of  loyalty  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  We  had  all  the 
oaths  necessary  and  proper  for  securing  loyal- 
ty in  our  officers,  provided  oaths  could  do  this 
thing.  In  my  opinion,  whenever  you  say  that 
a  disloyal  man  may  vote  in  this  State,  you  will 
have  disloyal  men  elected  to  office.  If  a  coun- 
ty is  composed  of  two  thousand  traitors  and 
one  hundred  loyal  men,  and  you  permit  the 
whole  twenty-one  hundred  to  vote,  you  will 
have  disloyal  representatives,  I  don't  care  what 
oaths  you  require.  It  is  an  unfortunate  feature 
in  this  rebellion  that  its  adherents  have  a  dif- 
ferent code  of  morals  from  ours.  Their  mo- 
rality is  that  it  is  right  to  do  any  and  every- 
thing that  will  injure  the  stability  of  our  Gov- 
ernment. That  is  their  doctrine.  It  is  right, 
according  to  their  way  of  thinking,  for  them 
to  waylay  you  and  shoot  you  because  you  are 
true  to  your  Government.  It  is  right  for  them 
to  swear  falsely,  provided  they  can  injure  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  And  now, 
we  are  asked  to  trust  the  loyalty  and  peace  of 
our  State  to  the  oaths  that  will  be  taken  by  men 
whose  doctrine  is  that  they  are  not  bound  by 
their  oaths  !  I  ask  you,  gentlemen,  who  know 
something  of  these  secessionists,  are  you  will- 
ing to  trust  your  safety,  and  the  safety  of  your 
State,  to  an  oath  to  be  taken  by  traitors  ?  For 
one,  I  am  willing  to  do  no  such  thing.  I  am  not 
willing  to  risk  the  safety  of  this  State  upon  any 
such  slender  thread ;  I  am  not  willing  to  risk 
the  safety  of  my  constituents  to  the  oath  of 
men  who  have  violated  their  solemn  oaths  from 
the  first  day  of  the  rebellion  to  the  present  hour. 
Mr.  President,  only  a  few  months  since  the 
spring  elections  were  coming  on,  and  the  cry 
came  up  from  every  quarter  that  what  this 
Convention  had  done  would  be  utterly  futile  if 
traitors  were  permitted  to  vote.  Perfectly  sat- 
isfied of  the  justness  of  that  position,  I  appeal- 
ed to  the  commanding  officer  of  this  depart- 
ment to  require  every  man  who  offered  to  vote 
to  take  an  oath,  such  as  is  presented  by  this 
Convention  for  office-holders ;  and  I  am  not 
aware  that  any  loyal  man  ever  objected  to  it, 
or  that  General  Halleck  was  wrong  in  requiring 
all  voters  to  swear.  On  the  contrary,  it  was 
approved  by  all,  as  far  as  I  know.  And,  as  a 
result  of  this,  we  have  had  no  banding  togeth- 
er in  great  parties,  and  fighting  till  the  last  man 
was  dead.  On  the  contrary,  from  that  day  till 
now,  the  peace  of  Missouri  has  been  more  and 
more  consolidated  ;  and  now,  under  the  opera- 
tion of  that  order  which  excludes  secessionists, 


if  secessionists  are  honest  men,  we  have  more 
peace  than  we  have  had  for  the  last  twelve 
months.  If  that  order  of  General  Halleck's 
was  proper,  and  with  the  oath  presented  by 
Halleck,  I  want  nothing  more.  I  want  nothing 
more  than  is  just.  I  don't  want  to  put  any 
stigma  upon  any  person ;  but  I  want  to  have 
loyal  men  control  this  Government ;  and  I  re- 
peat that  the  only  way  you  can  have  loyal  repre- 
sentatives is  to  allow  none  but  loyal  men  to 
vote. 

It  is  said  by  gentlemen  who  oppose  this  pro- 
position, that  there  is  unnecessary  severity  in 
it — that  there  is  that  in  it  which  is  calculated 
to  excite  and  stimulate  secessionists  to  resis- 
tance and  continuance  in  their  course.  Gen- 
tlemen, we  have  tried  conciliation ;  we  have 
tried  the  most  tender  remedies  that  could  be 
suggested.  Under  this  policy,  AVC  permitted 
the  rebellion  to  take  head  and  make  progress, 
we  permitted  the  United  States  arsenals  to  be 
seized,  United  States  mints  to  be  robbed,  Uni- 
ted States  flags  to  be  insulted,  and  all  the  time 
the  rebellion  became  worse,  and  traitors  became 
bolder  and  more  violent.  They  never  began 
to  repent  until  they  felt  pressing  upon  them  the 
stern  power  of  this  Government — not  until  af- 
ter they  were  punished,  and  felt  the  force  of 
such  orders  as  that  General  Halleck  issued  last 
spring,  then  they  began  to  respect  the  opinions 
of  the  people  of  this  land. 

Mr.  President:  I  repeat  that  I  do  not  desire 
to  practice  any  unnecessary  severity,  but  I  do 
believe  that  it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  this  Con- 
vention to  cooperate  with  the  military  power 
in  preserving  the  peace  of  the  country.  We 
have  no  right  to  shrink  from  responsibility,- and 
leave  all  the  work  of  restoring  order  and  loy- 
alty to  General  Halleck  or  General  Schofield. 
Does  any  man  believe  the  military  will  permit 
secessionists  to  vote  ?  I  don't  think  any  Union 
man  here  has  any  such  desire ;  and  if  we  do 
not  desire  that  they  should  vote,  it  is  our  duty 
to  take  the  responsibility  and  say  so.  I  don't 
care  about  this  restriction  lasting  very  long.  I 
only  want  it  to  continue  while  the  war  contin- 
ues. Whenever  peace  is  restored,  and  our  cit- 
izens return  to  their  allegiance,  I  will  be  ready 
to  advise  its  modification  or  abrogation  alto- 
gether. I  don't  think  there  need  be  the  slight- 
est uneasiness  that  the  Legislature  will  be  se- 
vere on  this  point.  Every  one  of  us  has  rela- 
tions in  the  rebellion,  and  all  those  kind  sym- 
pathies which  the  gentleman  from  Green  allu- 
ded to  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  us  to  strike 
out  the  clause  to  which  he  objects,  will  operate 


40 


upon  legislators  to  relieve  our  friends  from  this 
restriction  the  moment  that  it  is  safe  to  do  so. 


The   Convention,   at  the  conclusion  of  Mr. 
H.'s  remarks,  adjourned  to  9  A.  M.,  Friday. 


FIFTH   DAY. 


JEFFERSON  CITY, 
Friday,  June  6,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  at  9  o'clock. 

Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS,  from  the  Committee  on  Fi- 
nance, reported  a  bill  in  relation  to  Assessors 
and  Collectors,  and  to  provide  for  the  payment 
of  certain  accounts.  Ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  from  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  reported  an  ordinance  to  enable  citi- 
zens of  this  State  now  in  the  military  service 
to  vote.  Ordered  to  be  printed. 

EXPULSION    OF    DISLOYAL    MEMBERS. 

Mr.  BRIDGE,  from  the  Special  Committee 
to  whom  was  referred  the  resolution  to  vacate 
the  seats  of  certain  members,  reported  that  the 
committee  had  had  the  same  under  considera- 
tion, and  that  from  the  evidence  before  them  it 
appeared  that  Sterling  Price,  Robert  W.  Craw- 
ford, and  V.  B.  Hill,  are  now,  and  have  been 
for  months  past,  committing  acts  of  violence 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States; 
that  they  have  violated  the  oath  they  took  as 
members  of  this  Convention,  and  proved  re- 
creant to  their  State  and  their  country ;  that 
it  is  known  they  are  in  arms  against  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  and  giving  aid 
to  the  rebellion ;  and  that  lor  these  reasons 
they  are  unworthy  to  hold  seats  in  this  Con- 
vention and  should  be  expelled.  In  regard  to 
Uriel  Wright  the  Committee  have  no  evidence 
that  he  has  taken  up  arms,  but  they  have  evi- 
dence that  he  has  left  the  State  and  has  given 
aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy  by  speeches  and 
otherwise,  and  they  recommend  that  he  be 
expelled.  In  regard  to  John  R.  Chenault  and 
Robert  A.  Hatcher,  the  Committee  are  not  able 
to  say  that  they  have  taken  up  arms,  but  the 
testimony  before  the  Committee  showed  that 
they  were  not  citizens  of  the  State,  having  re- 
moved from  it.  The  Committee,  therefore, 
recommend  that  their  seats  be  vacated.  In  the 
case  of  Nathaniel  W.  Watkins,  the  Committee 
find  that  he  accepted  the  commission  of  Briga- 
dier General  and  proceeded  to  act  under  it ; 


but  at  a  subsequent  period  threw  it  up  and  has 
for  months  past  been  absent  from  the  State. 
They  recommend  that  his  seat  be  declared  va- 
cant. In  regard  to  W.  W.  Turner,  the  Com- 
mittee have  evidence  of  the  commission  of 
criminal  acts  by  him  during  the  recess  of  this 
Convention,  and  that  he  is  now  a  fugitive  from 
the  State.  The  Committee,  therefore,  recom- 
mend the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  Sterling  Price,  Robert  W. 
Crawford,  V.  B.  Hill,  Uriel  Wright  and  W.  W. 
Turner  be  expelled  from  this  Convention. 

Resolved,  That  the  seats  of  John  R.  Chenault, 
Robert  A.  Hatcher  and  N.  W.  Watkins  in  this 
Convention  be  declared  vacant,  and  that  the 
above  eight  names  be  struck  from  the  roll  of 
this  Convention. 

The  above  report  received  the  unanimous 
consent  of  the  Committee,  except  in  the  case 
of  Mr.  Chenault.  Mr.  Gravelly  dissented  from 
the  report  in  favor  of  Mr.  C.'s  expulsion. 

Mr.  STEWART.  There  are  several  other 
names  I  would  like  to  include  in  that  report. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  believe  the  regular  order  is 
the  unfinished  business  of  yesterday,  and  that 
it  has  precedence  over  this  matter. 

The  PRESIDENT.  This  is  a  privileged  ques- 
tion and  has  precedence. 

Mr.  STEWART.  At  the  first  session  I  voted 
for  Mr.  Pomeroy  against  Mr.  Watkins,  for  I 
knew  he  was  a  traitor,  and  there  are  several 
others  I  could  mention  who  in  all  probability 
would  do  just  as  he  has  done,  if  they  had  the 
opportunity. 

Mr.  PIPKIN.  I  move  to  strike  out  the  name 
of  Mr.  Watkins  for  this  reason  :  Very  recently 
in  attending  Court,  in  our  Circuit,  I  under- 
stood Mr.  Watkins  desired  to  return  to  the 
State,  but  owing  to  the  difficulties  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  Missouri,  and  especially  in  Arkan- 
sas, it  was  very  difficult  for  him  to  get  back. 
But  from  the  assurances  I  have  from  his 
friends,  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  he 
would  return  to  the  State  if  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  do  so.  It  is  well  known  that  he  threw 
up  his  commission  received  from  Jackson,  and 


41 


has  never  served  in  the  Confederate  service. 
He  is  an  aged  man,  and  has  occupied  a  conspi- 
cuous position  in  Missouri  heretofore,  and  un- 
less the  Committee  have  incontestible  evidence 
that  he  will  not  return  to  the  State,  I  shall  in- 
sist upon  my  motion  to  strike  out  his  name 
from  the  report. 

Mr.  MARMADUKE.  If  in  order,  I  move  the 
report  of  the  Committee  be  laid  on  the  table. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  I  think  we  can  just  as 
well  act  on  it  now. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  desire  to  ask  if  this 
motion  prevail  whether  this  report  can  be  taken 
up  at  any  time  ? 

Mr.  MARMADUKE.  Certainly,  that  is  my 
object. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  hope  the  Convention 
will  consider  the  question  now. 

The  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  was  lost. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  In  justice  to  Mr.  Watkins, 
I  desire  to  state  that  he  was  indicted  by  the 
United  States  Grand  Jury  at  its  session  last 
summer,  for  treason.  He  was  never  arrested, 
as  he  absented  himself  from  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri. He  was  subsequently  pardoned  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  but  it  never 
could  have  reached  him.  In  fact,  I  know  it 
has  not,  because  it  was  sent  to  the  United  States 
District  Attorney  in  St.  Louis,  and  is  at  the 
present  time  on  file  in  the  United  States  Cir- 
cuit Court.  Whether  he  has  ever  received  any 
information  as  to  his  having  been  pardoned,  I 
am  not  aware.  But  I  know  this — that  he  has 
represented  that  he  desired  to  return  to  Mis- 
souri and  live  here  a  peaceable  citizen ;  that  he 
had  abandoned  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and 
the  pardon  was  predicated  upon  that  ground. 
I  have  been  informed  that  he  has  never  re- 
ceived any  information  which  would  justify 
his  return.  I  make  this  statement  in  justice 
to  him. 

Mr.  PIPKIN.  I  would  state  further,  that  at 
the  session  of  this  body  in  July  last,  I  was 
told  by  Mr.  Hatcher,  then  a  member  of  this 
body,  that  Mr.  Watkins  sent  by  him — if  I  am 
not  mistaken — a  request  to  the  commanding 
officer  of  Cape  Girardeau,  to  permit  him  to 
attend  this  Convention  at  its  July  session.  He 
had  then  thrown  up  his  commission  received 
under  Jackson,  had  retired  from  the  army,  and 
desired  to  attend  the  Convention  at  its  July  ses- 
sion. But  the  officer  in  command  at  Cape  Girar- 
deau returned  him  a  reply  that  if  he  came  within 
his  lines  he  would  arrest  him.  Mr.  Watkins  did 
not  feel  disposed  to  be  placed  under  arrest,  and 
so  remained  away  from  the  Convention.  Of 


the  truth  of  this  statement,  made  to  me  by  Mr. 
Hatcher,  I  have  no  doubt,  and  I  think,  under 
the  circumstances  of  the  pardon,  and  the  throw- 
ing up  of  his  commission,  it  is  imposing  too 
great  a  penalty  to  expel  him  from  this  body, 
or  declare  his  seat  vacant. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  My  impression  is  that 
the  only  proposition  is  to  declare  his  seat 
vacant. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  I  think  it  is  to 
expel  him. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned, 
if  the  proposition  were  to  expel  Gen.  Watkins, 
I  would  vote  against  it.  I  know  something  in 
regard  to  his  pardon,  and  I  am  glad  it  was 
granted  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
I  was  familiar  with  the  circumstances  at  the 
time,  and  am  glad  the  President  took  the  action 
he  did  in  regard  to  General  Watkins.  I  think 
it  was  proper,  and  I  think  it  is  proper  also  that 
this  Convention  should  declare  his  seat  vacant. 
General  Watkins  is  a  gentleman  whose  famili- 
arity with  the  laws  of  this  country,  with  his 
duties  as  a  member  of  this  Convention,  and  as 
a  citizen  under  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  ought  to  have  prevented  him  from 
committing  the  offense  with  which  he  was 
charged.  The  Grand  Jury  found  him  guilty, 
and  his  friends  did  not  make  any  question  as 
to  his  positive  acts  of  treason  and  disloyalty  to 
the  Government;  and  although  I  was  perfectly 
willing  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  procure  a  par- 
don from  the  consequences  of  his  offense,  and 
to  see  him  restored  back  again  as  far  as  we 
could,  to  his  rights,  yet  I  am  not  willing  that 
he  should  occupy  a  seat  in  this  Convention.  I 
think  the  day  has  come,  when,  if  the  people  of 
Missouri  intend  to  preserve  their  peace,  they 
ought  to  take  these  things  into  their  own  hands. 
I  have  no  spirit  of  vengeance  against  these 
men.  I  have  no  desire  to  see  them  hung  if  it 
is  not  necessary  for  the  public  good,  or  stripped 
of  their  property  ;  but  here  is  a  clear,  admitted 
case  of  treason  on  the  part  of  a  member  of  this 
Convention,  and  I  think  it  as  little  as  this  Con- 
vention can  do  to  declare  his  seat  vacant.  I 
am  unwilling  to  say  he  shall  be  expelled,  but  I 
am  not  willing,  under  the  circumstances,  to 
say  he  shall  be  entitled  to  a  seat  in  this  Con- 
vention, hereafter,  if  he  sees  fit  to  present  him- 
self. I  think  it  as  little  as  the  friends  of  Gen. 
Watkins  can  ask  of  us  to  say  that  his  seat 
shall  be  vacant.  If  the  consequences  of  his 
crime  were  to  be  visited  upon  him  he  never 
could  take  his  seat  here, — it  would  close  his 
earthly  career;  but  that  matter  has  been  dis- 


42 


posed  of  by  Executive  clemency.  I  repeat,  I 
am  unwilling  to  say  he  shall  be  continued  as  a 
member  of  this  body.  It  is  high  time  the  peo- 
ple of  Missouri  should  vindicate  themselves 
against  all  association  with  treason,  and  where 
it  is  possible,  to  separate  ourselves  from  it. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  The  gentleman  mistakes 
if  he  supposes  I  made  the  statement  I  did, 
with  the  view  of  influencing  members  in  favor 
of  the  motion  now  pending.  I  merely  made 
the  statement  that  justice  might  be  done  to 
Gen.  Watkins,  and  that  the  Convention  might 
understand  his  present  status  with  reference 
to  the  Convention  and  the  State  of  Missouri. 
I  shall  vote  to  declare  his  seat  vacant. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on  the 
motion  of  the  gentleman  from  Iron  ( Mr.  Pip- 
kin.) 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  demanded.  The 
vote  was  taken  and  the  motion  was  lost. 

Mr.  MCCORMACK  (in  explanation  of  his 
vote).  While  I  have  the  highest  respect  and 
feelings  of  kindness  for  Gen.  Watkins,  who  is 
my  colleague,  yet  it  is  a  painful  duty  for  me 
to  vote  for  his  removal  from  this  Convention. 
I  feel  it  is  a  duty,  and  I  shall  vote  no. 

Mr.  STEWART  (in  explanation  of  his  vote). 
I  suppose  it  is  as  painful  a  duty  as  ever  I  per- 
formed to  vote  no.  I  know  Mr.  Watkins  well, 
and,  as  has  been  stated,  he  was  a  man  of  influ- 
ence and  ought  to  have  stood  up  for  the  Gov- 
ernment. But  he  has  been  instrumental  in 
directing  a  great  many  men  into  this  difficulty. 
He  has  been  guilty  of  treason,  a  traitor  to  his 
country,  and  I  therefore  vote  no. 

The  vote  was  announced. 

Mr.  GRAVELLY.  The  special  Committee 
unanimously  agreed  upon  this  report  with  the 
exception  of  myself.  I  dissented  from  the 
resolution  in  regard  to  Judg9  Chenault,  of 
Jasper  county.  I  deem  it  due  to  myself,  as 
well  as  to  Judge  Chenault,  that  I  should  state 
the  reasons  before  this  body  that  induced  me 
to  dissent  from  the  report  declaring  his  seat 
vacant.  I  am  ready  to  declare  vacant  the  seat 
of  any  member  of  this  Convention,  when  satis- 
fied that  he  has  committed  treason  against  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  If  I  were 
satisfied  Judge  Chenault  had  taken  up  arms 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
or  had  been  guilty  of  any  act,  or  committed 
any  crime  or  deed  by  which  he  could  be  in- 
dicted for  treason,  then  I  would  not  object  to 
striking  his  name  from  the  roll  or  declaring 
his  seat  vacant  But  there  was  no  evidence 
before  the  Committee  that  Judge  Chenault  be- 


longed to  the  rebel  army,  or  that  he  had  com- 
mitted any  act  against  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  that  comes  under  the  name  of 
treason.  And  although  I  may  have  reason  to 
believe  tha*  Judge  Chenault  is  a  sympathizer 
with  the  rebellion,  yet  in  the  absence  of  any 
evidence  that  my  colleague  has  ever  taken  up 
arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  I  was  unwilling  to  vote  to  declare  his 
seat  vacant.  It  was  in  effect  a  vote  to  declare 
his  seat  vacant,  because  he  is  not  here  in  his 
seat.  He  is  not  the  only  member  of  this  Con- 
vention who  has  refused  to  attend  its  sessions, 
since  the  first  session;  there  are  many  members 
in  the  State  who  are  not  present  now,  and  have 
never  attended  since  the  first  session.  I  am 
unwilling  to  declare  his  seat  vacant  unless  I 
have  evidence  that  he  is  guilty  of  treason  and 
taken  up  arms  against  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  As  regards  the  other  names 
that  were  referred  to  the  Committee,  we  had 
unmistakeable  evidence,  I  think,  that  all  of 
them  had  taken  up  arms  against  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  or  removed  from 
the  State  of  Missouri.  I  have  heard  rumors 
that  Judge  Chenault  is  a  citizen  of  Arkansas 
and  has  removed  his  family  to  Texas,  and  I 
have  heard  others  say  that  he  and  his  family 
are  now  at  Carthage,  in  Jasper  county,  and, 
sir,  in  the  absence  of  proof  as  to  his  where- 
abouts, I  am  unwilling  to  vote  to  declare  his 
seat  vacant.  I  have  no  evidence  that  he  has 
absented  himself  from  the  State,  and  therefore 
I  move  to  strike  out  his  name. 

The  motion  was  lost. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  I  desire  the  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  to  state  what  evidence  he  has 
that  Major  Wright  has  had  anything  to  do 
with  the  Southern  Confederacy.  That  he  has 
abandoned  his  seat  in  this  Convention  I  have 
no  doubt,  but  I  do  not  like  to  vote  to  expel 
him.  From  what  I  have  heard,  I  have  no 
doubt  that  he  has  gone  to  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy, but  I  do  not  like  to  expel  him  unless 
he  has  committed  some  overt  act. 

Mr.  BRIDGE.  The  evidence  before  the 
Committee  was  a  report  (from  the  Army  Argus, 
printed  at  Des  Arcs,  Ark.;  of  a  speech  deliver- 
ed by  Major  Wright,  in  which  he  stated  that 
he  had  left  this  State  and  joined  them  at  a  late 
day,  and  that  the  reason  he  had  not  joined 
them  sooner  was  because  he  believed  he  could 
do  them  more  service  in  the  Convention  than 
he  could  by  being  in  their  midst. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  What  will  be  the  effect  of 
agreeing  to  the  report  of  the  Committee  ? 


43 


The  PRESIDENT.  Any  gentleman  is  entitled 
to  a  division  of  tin-  qm'stion.  If  the  report  is 
agreed  to,  then  the  question  is  on  agreeing  to 
the  resolution. 

Mr.  DUNN.  In  tho  view  of  the  case  present- 
ed by  Mr.  Doniphan,  I  move  that  the  name  of 
Mr.  Wright  be  transferred  from  the  list  of 
those  to  be  expelled  to  the  list  of  those  whose 
seats  will  be  declared  vacant.  . 

Mr.  MEYER.  I  think  it  is  a  well  known  fact 
Mr.  Wright  left  St.  Louis  with  a  number  of 
recruits  for  Price's  army.  This  was  the  cur- 
rent report  in  St.  Louis.  It  is  my  understand- 
ing that  he  took  with  him  some  twenty  or 
thirty  individuals  from  our  city  and  vicinity, 
and  it  does  seem  to  me  that  he  is  doubly  guilty. 
He  constituted  himself  a  recruiting  officer  and 
took  these  young  men  away  from  St.  Louis, 
and  this,  in  connection  with  the  position  he 
occupied  in  this  Convention,  and  his  acts  after- 
ward, it  seems  to  me  renders  him  doubly  guilty 
of  treason. 

Mr.  LEEPER.  There  is  one  thing  which  I 
wish  to  state  in  regard  to  Uriel  Wright.  After 
he  left  St.  Louis  he  passed  near  Ironton  and 
Pilot  Knob,  and  had  about  twenty-five  men 
with  him.  I  was  stationed  in  the  vicinity  and 
as  soon  as  I  heard  he  was  about,  I  started  after 
him  with  a  company  of  men  and  came  near 
catching  him.  He  announced  to  the  citizens 
along  the  route  that  he  was  leaving  Missouri 
to  join  the  Southern  Confederacy.  He  said  he 
had  brought  twenty-five  men  with  him  from 
St.  Louis  and  intended  to  join  the  Southern 
army.  Under  these  circumstances  I  shall  vote 
against  transferring  his  name  from  the  first  to 
the  second  resolution,  and  in  favor  of  expelling 
him  from  this  body. 

The  motion  of  Mr.  Howell  was  lost.  The 
report  was  then  agreed  to,  and  the  resolutions 
were  adopted,  one  of  the  members  voting  in 
the  negative. 

PETITION   FOR  THE  EXPULSION  OF   A   MEMBER. 

Mr.  VANBUSKIRK  introduced  the  petition  of 
700  loyal  voters  of  the  Fourth  Senatorial  Dis- 
trict, in  favor  of  the  expulsion  of  Prince  L. 
Hudgens  from  the  State  Convention.  The  pe- 
tition represents  Mr.  Hudgens  as  unworthy  to 
represent  the  loyal  citizens  of  the  Fourth  Sen- 
atorial District;  that  his  traitorous  and  con- 
temptible conduct  furnished  ample  evidence 
of  his  unworthiness,  and  further,  that  he  had 
not  made  his  appearance  in  his  District  since 
last  September. 


QUALIFICATIONS    OF    VOTERS. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  morning  hour  has 
expired  and  the  unfinished  business  of  yester- 
day will  be  taken  up— the  ordinance  defining 
the  qualification  of  voters.  The  ordinance  will 
be  considered  as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  desire  simply  to  make  this 
remark — that  there  seems  to  be  a  disposition 
to  regard  the  consideration  of  this  ordinance 
as  in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  but  when  the 
proper  time  comes  I  shall  call  for  the  ayes  and 
noes,  and  if  the  Chair  decide  them  out  of 
order,  I  shall  take  an  appeal. 

Mr.  Orr.  I  had  the  floor  j'esterday  evening 
at  the  hour  of  adjournment,  but  having  learned 
there  arc  several  gentlemen  who  desire  to  ad- 
dress the  Convention,  I  yield  the  floor  to  Mr. 
Woolfolk,  who  desires  to  make  a  speech. 

Mr.  WOOLI-OLK.  I  desire  to  offer  a  few  rea- 
sons why  I  shall  vote  for  the  amendment  of- 
fered by  the  gentleman  from  Green.  In  the 
first  place,  it  seems  to  me,  this  resolution  as 
reported  by  the  committee  is  too  indefinite ;  in 
the  second  place,  impracticable  ;  and,  in  the 
third  place,  it  is  inexpedient  for  this  body  to 
adopt  it.  Now,  sir,  whom  do  we  propose  to  ex- 
clude by  this  resolution  ?  It  is  not  limited  to 
any  particular  class.  It  says  those  who  have 
taken  up  arms  shall  be  excluded  ;  and,  further, 
that  no  person  who  has,  since  the  1st  day  of 
August,  1861,  adhered  to,  or  given  aid,  assist- 
ance or  encouragement  to  those  engaged  in 
carrying  on  the  rebellion  shall  be  qualified  to 
vote  at  any  election.  Now,  sir,  I  contend  that 
is  too  indefinite ;  had  it  merely  proposed  to  re- 
strict those  men  who  had  taken  up  arms  from 
voting,  we  would  have  then  had  a  definite  and 
specific  class  ;  but  when  you  propose  to  exclude 
every  man  who  may  have  given  aid,  assistance, 
or  encouragement  to  the  enemy,  the  question 
is,  how  many  men  does  that  embrace  ?  Why, 
I  believe,  it  will  embrace  two-thirds  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  Missouri,  and  among  that  two-thirds 
many  of  our  best  and  most  loyal  citizens  might 
be  included.  What  is  giving  aid  and  comfort? 
Lawyers  themselves  differ  on  the  question. 
How  are  you  going  to  determine  who  has  given 
aid  ?  A  secessionist  comes  along  from  Price's 
army,  and  stops  at  a  Union  man's  house.  Now 
suppose  that  Union  man  should  choose  to  keep 
him  there  during  the  night,  and  give  him  a 
supper  and  a  breakfast,  and  start  him  again  on 
his  way.  He  may  do  this  from  motives  of  hu- 
manity, or  from  fear  of  personal  violence  ;  yet, 
would  not  his  act  be  construed  as  giving  aid 
and  comfort  ?  There  is  no  limitation  as  to  what 


44 


amount  of  aid  is  to  be  given  ;  it  does  not  say 
what  the  aid  will  be ;  but  it  simply  proposes  to 
exclude  every  man  who  has  given  aid,  assist- 
ance, or  encouragement  to  the  enemy.  Why, 
if  a  secessionist  were  to  call  at  a  Union  man's 
house,  and  ask  for  a  cup  of  cold  water  and  it 
should  be  given,  it  would  be  giving  aid,  assist- 
ance or  encouragement.  A  secessionist  may 
have  gone  to  the  Union  army,  and  left  his  notes 
in  the  hands  of  a  Union  lawyer  to  collect ;  tell' 
ing  him  to  collect  the  notes,  so  that  the  mo- 
ney may  not  be  forfeited.  Suppose  the  lawyer 
chooses  to  collect,  and  turns  the  money  over 
to  the  man's  agent,  and  it  is  forwarded  to  him 
in  the  rebel  army,  is  that  giving  aid,  assistance, 
or  encouragement?  Now,  I  contend  that  is 
too  indefinite ;  it  leaves  room  for  a  great  deal 
of  doubt,  and  too  much  doubt.  If  this  Con- 
vention proposes  to  exclude  every  body  who 
has  given  aid,  assistance,  or  encouragement,  it 
seems  to  me  the  limitation  should  be  specific, 
so  that  the  people  might  know  whom  we  intend- 
ed to  exclude  and  whom  we  intended  to  allow 
to  vote.  Again,  sir :  we  know  that  during 
some  portions  of  the  trying  period  of  this  re- 
bellion, men  in  the  midst  of  secession  localities 
have  been  compelled,  to  some  extent,  to  give 
indirect  encouragement  to  the  rebellion.  I 
think  it  is  safe  to  say  that  every  man  who  has 
not  been  a  fugitive  from  certain  localities  in 
this  State  has  been  forced  to  give  indirect  as- 
sistance or  encouragement  to  the  rebellion. 
There  has  been  a  time  when  to  advocate  the 
Government  in  certain  parts  of  this  State,  was 
dangerous  in  the  extreme ;  there  was  a  time 
when  your  Honor  and  myself  were  fugitives 
in  St.  Louis — while  Price's  army  was  thunder- 
ing at  the  gates  of  Lexington ;  there  was  a 
time  when  a  Union  man  could  not  express  his 
sentiments.  But  these  resolutions  as  reported 
propose  to  exclude  every  man  from  voting  who 
has,  since  the  1st  of  August,  1861,  given  aid, 
assistance,  or  encouragement  to  the  rebellion. 
You  propose,  if  the  record  can  be  preserved  of 
any  idle  words  which  a  man  may  have  used  at 
any  time,  to  exclude  him  from  the  rights  of  an 
American  citizen.  I  contend,  sir,  it  is  too  in- 
definite, and  it  would  be  improper  to  pass  any 
such  measure.  I  cannot  vote  to  exclude  men 
from  the  rights  of  citizenship  who  have,  since 
the  1st  day  of  August,  given  aid  or  assistance 
to  those  engaged  in  the  rebellion.  Why,  this 
measure  as  reported,  would  hold  a  man  respon- 
sible for  private  conversation.  If  any  Union 
man,  in  conversation  with  one  of  his  most  in- 
timate friends  on  the  other  side,  should  have 


et  fall  any  words  in  the  least  derogatory  to  the 
Federal  Government,  or  as  to  how  the  conflict 
would  terminate, — if,  in  the  confidence  of  so- 
:al  life,  he  should  have  let  fall  any  words  of 
this  sort  which  could  be  proved  against  him,  it 
might  be  some  personal  enemy  would  bring  the 
charge  against  him  for  the  purpose  of  excluding: 
him  from  the  polls.  I  say,  let  us  exclude  a 
particular  class,  or  let  everybody  vote.  I  am 
opposed  to  putting  this  clause  in,  which  means 
everything  or  nothing.  Again,  sir,  it  is  im- 
practicable. How  does  it  propose  to  determine 
this  question  ?  It  provides  that  "  any  judge  of 
election  who  shall  receive  or  record,  or  permit 
to  be  recorded,  the  vote  of  any  person  who 
shall  not  previously  have  complied  with  the 
provisions  of  the  preceding  2d  section,  shall, 
on  conviction  thereof,  be  adjudged  guilty 
of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall  be  punished 
by  fine  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  nor 
more  than  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by  im- 
prisonment for  not  exceeding  two  months,  for 
each  offense." 

Now,  sir,  is  not  that  impracticable?  Your 
judges  of  elections  are  taken  up  from  the  streets, 
and,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  know  nothing 
about  law  whatever,  and  yet  this  resolution  as 
reported  proposes  to  exclude  everybody  who 
has  adhered,  or  given  aid,  assistance  or  en- 
couragement to  the  rebellion.  How  is  a  judge 
of  the  election,  in  the  excitement  of  an  election, 
to  sit  and  determine  upon  each  case?  Why, 
the  question  as  to  who  may  have  given  aid 
and  comfort  might  occupy  the  lime  of  the 
Circuit  Court  in  our  county  far  six  months. 
Will  gentlemen  contend  that  in  counties  where 
five  hundred  men  have  gone  to  the  armies  of  the 
Confederate  States,  that  a  judge  of  the  election 
can  determine  all  such  cases  on  an  election 
day,  when  it  would  occupy  the  Circuit  Court 
six  months  in  determining  whether  one  man 
had  given  aid  or  comfort?  Wherever  there  is 
a  secession  element  in  a  county,  it  is  an  open 
question  how  far  certain  men  in  that  county 
have  given  aid  or  comfort.  We  know  our  best 
lawyers  have  differed  on  the  question  as  to 
what  aid  and  comfort  is,  and  our  courts  differ, 
and  yet  this  resolution  proposes  to  let  the  judge 
of  an  election — without  any  legal  acumen,  or 
argument  made  before  him,  or  any  evidence 
except  that  which  may  be  gathered  at  the  polls 
— determine  the  qualifications  of  a  voter,  as  to 
whether  he  has  given  aid  or  encouragement- 
Now,  I  ask,  is  that  a  proper  place  to  try  a 
man  ?  Is  it  right  that  a  judge  of  election  from 
the  street  corners  should  pass  upon  a  question 


45 


which  might  well  occupy  the  ablest  jurors  of 
this  country  ? 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  With  the  permission  of 
the  gentleman,  I  would  like  to  say  that,  if  there 
is  likely  to  be  any  misapprehension  concerning 
this  part  of  the  ordinance,  I  have  no  doubt 
that  every  friend  of  the  ordinance,  as  it  stands, 
would  consent  to  a  modification  looking  to  the 
removal  of  even  the  possibility  of  misconstruc- 
tion. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  It  is  drawn  up  so  loosely 
that  I  think  it  should  be  referred  back  to  the 
committee.  I  am  unwilling,  sir,  that  a  ques- 
tion of  this  magnitude  should  be  left  to  the 
determination  of  a  judge,  on  the  day  of  election. 
I  contend,  therefore,  that  it  is  entirely  inexpe- 
dient to  undertake  to  do  what  is  here  proposed ; 
it  would  result  in  excluding  from  the  polls,  as 
I  think,  at  least  two-thirds  of  our  population, 
for  I  believe  that  two-thirds  of  the  population 
of  Missouri  have,  at  some  period  during  the 
rebellion,  committed  acts  which  might  be  con- 
strued as  giving  aid  or  assistance.  They  may 
have  done  it  through  idle  talk,  or  a  hundred 
othei-  ways.  We  know  that  even  politicians 
have  not  been  entirely  consistent  on  this  ques- 
tion. It  is  too  sweeping;  and  when  we  think 
of  giving  the  judge  of  election  the  right  to 
determine  at  the  moment,  when  three  hundred 
or  four  hundred  voters  are  at  the  polls,  as  to 
their  qualifications,  it  appears  clear  to  my 
mind  that  it  would  be  wholly  inexpedient  to 
entertain  such  a  proposition.  In  the  third 
place,  I  say  it  is  impracticable.  I  think,  as 
my  friend  from  Green  said  yesterday,  that  it 
would  result  in  conflict,  and  keep  up  this  re- 
bellion in  the  State  of  Missouri.  A  great  many 
good  men  would  refuse  to  go  to  the  polls  under 
such  circumstances.  They  would  feel  that 
their  political  enemies  might  challenge  their 
votes— that  any  street  loafer  might  challenge 
him,  and  bring  forward  his  whole  political 
record  and  character,  in  order  to  let  the  judge 
of  the  election  determine  whether  he  had  given 
aid  or  assistance  to  the  rebellion.  Now  there 
are  but  few  men  who  would  be  willing  to  sub- 
mit thus  to  an  insult,  or  who  would  be  disposed 
to  go  to  the  polls,  in  the  midst  of  an  excited 
multitude,  under  circumstances  of  this  sort. 
I  do  not  believe  the  free  people  of  Missouri 
would  stand  that  thing.  They  might  for  a 
time,  and  let  a  few  radicals  ride  over  them 
rough-shod;  but  in  a  very  little  while  the  people 
of  Missouri  would  rise  up  against  it,  and  you 
would  soon  find  that  the  polls  of  your  State 
would  be  red  with  blood.  Such  a  measure 


would  sow  the  seeds  of  jealousy  and  discord, 
and  result  in  disaster  to  the  State.  In  this 
view  of  the  case,  therefore,  I  hope  the  measure 
will  be  defeated. 

Mr.  SHANKLIN.  I  wish  to  offer  an  amend- 
ment to  the  amendment;  to  strike  out  the  whole 
of  the  first  section. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  opinion  of  the 
Chair  is  that  the  amendment  is  not  in  order. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  I  do  not  rise,  sir,  for  the 
purpose  of  speaking  of  the  merits  of  this 
question,  but  I  wish  tp  make  a  few  remarks 
concerning  the  argument  of  the  gentleman  who 
has  just  taken  his  seat.  I  am  opposed  to  these 
words:  "or  who  may  have  since  that  time 
adhered,  or  given  aid,  assistance,  or  encourage- 
ment to  the  rebellion."  Now,  I  have  a  motion 
written  out  to  strike  out  those  words,  as  I  con- 
sider they  are  indefinite,  and  for  the  further 
reason  that  I  think  they  would  disqualify  all 
those  who  have  given  aid  to  those  engaged  in 
rebellion.  According  to  a  strict  construction, 
it  would  affect  any  individual  who  had  given 
aid  or  comfort  to  any  person  engaged  in  rebel- 
lion, not  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him  to 
carry  on  the  rebellion,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
enabling  him  to  live — as  an  act  of  humanity. 
I  merely  read  this  for  information,  because  I 
know  it  would  not  be  in  order  now  to  offer  it 
as  an  amendment.  "  Insert  after  the  word 
'arms,'  in  the  first  line,  <or  levied  war.'"  The 
amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Green,  affects  the  whole  question.  I  hope  the 
Convention  will  not  strike  out  as  proposed  by 
the  gentleman  from  Green,  until  the  friends  of 
the  bill  can  amend  the  first  part  as  I  proposed. 
If  they  are  then  opposed  to  the  first  part,  we 
can  then  bring  up  the  question  directly,  as  to 
whether  those  engaged  in  the  rebellion  shall 
hereafter  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage,  or 
whether  we  will  limit  such  men  as  desire  to 
hold  office  hereafter.  Are  we  willing  to  give 
these  men  the  right  of  suffrage,  a  right  which 
they  have  forfeited  by  levying  war  against  the 
Government,  and  which  in  effect  has  expatri- 
ated and  deprived  them  of  all  political  rights  ? 
If  we  are  disposed  to  give  them  all  these  rights 
which  they  have  forfeited,  let  us  say  so  directly. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  Does  the  Chair 
decide  that  the  gentleman's  amendment  would 
not  be  in  order? 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.     He  has  not  offered  it. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  I  will  offer  it  as  an 
amendment. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  amendment  goes 
back  to  the  first  line  of  the  original  section, 


46 


which  cannot  be  amended  at  this  stage,  ant 
therefore  it  is  out  of  order. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  I  beg  leave  to 
make  a  suggestion.  I  understand  parliament- 
ary rule  to  be  that,  when  a  proposition  is  made 
to  strike  out,  it  is  always  in  order  to  move  to 
perfect  the  portion  moved  to  be  stricken  out 
or  to  perfect  any  other  portion  of  the  section 
which  will  be  affected  by  striking  out,  and  this 
can  be  done  before  the  motion  to  strike  out  is 
put.  Now,  the  proposition  of  the  gentleman 
from  St.  Louis,  as  I  understand  it,  does  affec 
the  meaning  of  the  words  which  the  gentleman 
from  Green  proposes  to  strike  out. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  This  question  was 
decided  by  the  Chair  yesterday  morning,  and 
I  think  correctly. 

Mr.  HALL.  It  was  decided,  I  think,  six  times 
yesterday,  and  every  time  a  different  way. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  May  I  ask  the  gentleman 
from  Green  to  withdraw  his  amendment  until 
a  vote  can  be  taken,  so  as  to  let  the  question 
be  brought  up  on  its  merits.  The  words  "levied 
war"  are  well  understood.  They  have  a  fuga- 
cious meaning,  and  are  interpreted  and  under- 
stood by  the  courts  all  through  the  country. 
The  words  used  in  the  section  have  not  been 
adjudicated  upon.  The  gentleman  from  Liv- 
ingston (Mr.  Woolfolk)  does  the  committee 
injustice  in  supposing  the  judges  of  election 
are  to  determine  this  question.  The  report 
proposes  no  such  thing,  but  that  those  engaged 
in  levying  war  shall  not  be  entitled  to  vote. 
The  judge  of  election  is  required  to  administer 
the  oath,  and  if  the  party  forfeits  that  oath, 
then  he  can  be  brought  before  a  judicial  tri- 
bunal. 

Mr.  STEWART.     Before  the  motion  is  with- 
drawn- 
Mr.  ORR.     It  will  not  be  withdrawn. 
Mr.  STEWART.     I  want  it  read. 
Mr.  HOWELL.     Is  it  in  order  now  to  move  a 
substitute  for  the  whole  ordinance? 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  I  think  not  at  the 
present  time. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  It  strikes  me  that  the  common 
sense  of  the  thing  is,  that  if  my  substitute 
should  prevail  there  is  no  utility  at  all  in  per- 
fecting that  which  would  ultimately  be  super- 
seded by  the  substitute. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  When  the  amend- 
ment is  disposed  of,  then  it  will  be  in  order  to 
offer  a  substitute. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  Then  I  will  withdraw  it  until 
this  amendment  is  disposed  of. 

Mr.  ORR.     I  do  not  wish  to  detain  the  Con- 


vention but  a  few  minutes.  I  do  not  propose 
to  strike  out  the  first  section  entirely  j  I  am 
willing  to  have  that  apply  to  candidates  for 
office  for  all  time  to  come.  I  merely  propose 
to  strike  this  out :  "  nor  to  vote  at  any  election 
from  and  after  the  passage  of  this  ordinance." 
With  that  stricken  out,  I  am  in  favor  of  the 
first  section.  I  propose  to  strike  out  so  much 
of  the  second  section  as  will  make  it  conform 
to  the  first  section,  if  my  first  amendment  is 
agreed  to.  I  am  opposed  to  any  substitute  that 
will  create  two  classes  of  voters  in  Missouri, 
and  array  them  against  each  other — one  class 
to  swear  that  they  have  not  been  in  the  rebel- 
lion, or  given  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy, 
and  the  other  class  to  swear  that  they  have 
been  forced  and  deceived  into  the  rebellion.  I 
want  every  citizen  to  take  the  oath  that  I  take. 
I  do  not  want  to  vote  with  a  class  of  men 
different  from  myself — a  class  of  criminals.  If 
we  create  these  different  classes  here,  as  I 
stated  yesterday,  you  and  I  will  not  keep  our 
heads  above  the  sod  long  enough  to  see  the  end 
of  the  evils  that  will  result,  and,  so  help  me 
God,  I  will  not  hold  office  in  Missouri  six  weeks 
from  to-day — and  I  doubt  not  you  can  get 
along  well  enough  without  me. 

There  is  an  additional  oath  attached  to  the 
ninth  section,  which  says,  that  any  individual 
forced  into  the  rebellion  may  take  this  oath — 
may  go  before  the  community  and  swear  that 
he  is  a  traitor.  I  do  not  understand  the  Con- 
stitution of  my  country  to  prescribe  any  such 
rule  of  conduct,  and  I  do  not  understand  that 
you  have  the  right  to  make  me  swear  that  I  am 
a  traitor.  I  do  not  understand  it  to  be  the 
policy  of  this  country,  and  I  am  opposed  to  it. 
The  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  (Mr.  Broad- 
bead)  does  not  seem  to  understand  the  position 
;aken  by  the  gentleman  from  Livingston  (Mr. 
Woolfolk) — that  the  judges  of  election  are  to 
e  the  triers  of  treason.  I  do.  I  understand 
hat  if  a  man  has  been  in  rebellion — has  waged 
war  or  levied  war — he  is  a  traitor ;  arid  when 
le  comes  to  vote,  an  individual  has  the  right  to 
challenge  htm,  and  these  judges  of  election 
hen  have  the  right  to  determine  whether  or  not 
he  has  the  right  to  vote.  I  go  to  the  polls  to 
vote,  and  Mr.  Broadhead  says  I  am  guilty  of 
evying  war  against  the  Government  of  the 
[Jnited  States.  He  swears  he  saw  me  in  Price's 
army,  and  the  judges  of  election  say  I  shall 
not  vote.  Have  they  not  determined  before 
he  world  that  I  am  a  traitor?  Never  will  I 
>ermit  a  man  picked  up  at  the  street  corners  to 
decide  that  I  am  guilty  of  treason.  We  have 


47 


courts  in  Missouri  whereby  this  offense  can  be 
tried.  If  I  am  convicted,  I  will  never  vote 
afterwards. 

Mr.  Hitchcock  said  that  my  objection  to  the 
judges  of  election  deciding  this  matter  went  too 
deep — that  it  went  so  far  as  to  deprive  the 
judges  of  election  from  deciding  upon  any 
qualifications.  Not  at  all.  I  expect  the  judges 
of  election  have  the  right  to  decide  whether 
I  live  in  the  county  or  not,  and  to  swear  me  as 
to  whether  1  have  voted  in  any  other  precinct} 
but  I  do  not  understand  that  the  judges  of  elec- 
tion have  a  right  to  decide  whether  I  have  been 
guilty  of  treason.  I  have  said  as  much  as 
anybody  in  favor  of  United  States  Courts  find- 
ing men  guilty  of  treason,  but  don't  let  us  try 
them  on  election  day.  I  think  the  gentleman 
from  Livingston  has  shown  you  the  impracti- 
cability of  attempting  to  ascertain  who  may 
have  been  guilty  of  treason,  when  it  would 
require  the  Judges  of  Courts  six  months  to  in- 
vestigate the  matter.  I  will  notice  another 
little  matter  in  this  connection  The  gentle- 
man f  i  om  St.  Louis  (  Mr.  Hitchcock)  yesterday 
said  that  I  said,  "  Pass  the  ordinance — it  will 
keep  the  secessionists  out  of  the  State."  The 
gentleman  misunderstood  me.  I  do  not  object 
to  their  remaining  out  of  the  State — they  can 
all  have  my  consent  to  leave  the  State  j  but  I 
said  this — that  they  would  go  out  of  the  State 
and  they  would  never  come  back  again,  unless 
they  came  back  to  shoot,  and  destroy  the  peace 
of  this  country.  I  do  not  care  whether  they 
come  back  or  not;  but  if  they  want  to  come 
back  like  prodigal  sons,  and  lay  down  their 
arms,  I  say  it  is  the  policy  of  this  country  to 
let  those  who  desire  protection  have  it,  and  not 
to  force  them  to  fight  to  the  death.  The  gen- 
tleman said  I  alluded  to  the  abolitionists.  I 
hope  that  no  member  of  this  Convention  con- 
sidered that  I  alluded  to  anybody  here. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  That  was  merely  an  un- 
intentional remark,  which  I  hope  the  gentleman 
will  not  trouble  himself  with. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  will  only  play  on  it  about  a 
minute.  I  only  said  that  there  were  abolition- 
ists at  the  North  and  nullifiers  at  the  South, 
and  that  I  had  as  soon  one  would  break  up  the 
Government  as  the  other.  But  I  do  not  think 
there  is  an  abolitionist  in  this  Convention.  I 
look  upon  any  man  who  desires  to  ruin  our 
Government  as  a  nullifier. 

Then  I  wish  to  notice  the  remarks  of  the 
gentleman  from  Buchanan.  He  says  that  if 
the  constituents  are  disloyal  the  representa- 
tives will  be  disloyal.  That  may  be  true.  We 


have,  however,  managed  our  part  of  the  country 
— notwithstanding  we  have  been  run  over  again 
and  again — so  that  there  is  not  a  county  to-day 
in  Phelps*  district  that  is  not  loyal,  and  that 
would  not — as  between  Secession  and  the  Union 
— vote  in  favor  of  the  Union  ;  and  every  soli- 
tary man  in  Price's  army  might  come  home 
and  vote  without  restraint.  I  was  astonished 
at  one  remark  the  gentleman  made.  That  was 
this,  that  he  recommended  General  Halleck  to 
force  the  people  of  Missouri  last  spring  to  take 
a  certain  oath.  I  also  understood  him  to  say 
that  he  would  not  believe  a  secessionist  on 
oath,  because  they  perjured  themselves.  I 
understood  him  to  say,  in  the  next  breath,  that 
that  oath  had  been  conducive  of  much  good  to 
the  people  of  Missouri. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  I  understood  the 
position  of  certain  gentlemen  to  be  that  they 
were  not  willing  to  apply  the  oath  to  voters, 
but  to  office  holders.  My  remark  was  that  it 
would  be  useless  to  confine  it  to  the  office 
holders. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  am  glad  to  take  it  back.  I 
understood  you  differently.  J  will  illustrate 
the  difference  between  the  position  of  Governor 
Hall  and  that  of  Governor  Orr,  if  I  had  had 
votes  enough.  I  understand  that  the  military 
shall  be  subordinate  to  the  civil  law.  I  under- 
stand it  to  be  the  duty  of  Governor  Hall,  while 
acting  as  Governor,  to  see  the  civil  law  en- 
forced, and  I  understand  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
call  the  military  authorities  of  Missouri  to 
back  him ;  but  I  do  not  understand  it  to  be  the 
duty  of  the  Governor  of  Missouri  to  ask  Gen- 
eral Halleck  to  enforce  something  that  is 
neither  civil  or  military.  He  stated  that  he 
presumed  there  was  no  Union  man  in  Missouri 
opposed  to  that.  If  he  will  look  this  way  he 
will  see  one  who  is  opposed  to  all  such  conduct 
as  that.  I  want  General  Halleck  to  help  en- 
force the  civil  law,  but  I  do  not  want  to 
see  him  go  a  solitary  step  ahead  of  that.  I 
would  look  upon  it  as  a  species  of  mobo- 
I cracy. 

The  Governor  went  a  step  further,  and  made 
this  allusion.  I  hope  he  will  take  it  back. 
He  said :  "  Does  any  person  believe  that  the 
military  authorities  in  this  State  will  suffer  any 
secessionists  to  vote?"  If  I  did  not  believe  it 
I  would  not  say  another  word. 

Mr.    PHILLIPS.      If    General    Halleck,    as 

commander-in-chief,  issued  that  order  at  the 

:  request  of  the  Governor  of  the  State,  was  he 

not  acting  in  obedience  to  the  civil  authorities  ? 

Mr.  ORK.     No,  sir  j  he  was  acting  in  obedi- 


48 


ence  to  the  civil  authorities,  but  not  in  obedience 
to  the  civil  law. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS.  Is  not  the  gentleman  aware 
of  the  fact  that  the  State  of  Missouri  was  under 
martial  law? 

Mr.  ORR.  I  am  not.  I  understand  there 
was  a  small  streak  through  it  that  was  under 
martial  law.  General  Halleck  had  a  right  to 
close  the  door,  but  he  had  no  right  to  say  what 
kind  of  an  oath  the  people  should  take.  I  do 
not  understand  that  since  Fremont  left  the 
State  has  been  under  martial  law. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  would  like  to  ask  the 
gentleman  a  question — if  he  don't  think  the 
United  States  is  paramount  to  any  State? 

Mr.  ORR.  I  think  the  United  States  is  par- 
amount to  any  State. 

Mr.  STEWART.  Then  what  are  you  talking 
about? 

Mr.  ORR.  I  believe  these  are  all  of  the 
remarks  of  the  gentleman  that  I  wish  to  notice. 
Now,  I  want  all  office  holders  to  take  the  oath, 
and  be  clear  of  having  heretofore  given  aid  or 
comfort ;  and  I  want  the  voters  to  come  forward 
and  swear  that  they  will  not  do  it  again,  and 
that  they  will  renounce  all  allegiance  to  the 
Jeff.  Davis  Government.  If  they  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  support  this  Government,  why, 
of  course,  they  renounce  all  other  Govern- 
ments.  And  now,  gentlemen,  I  shall  not  appeal 
to  your  justice  or  your  sympathy.  If  you  are 
prepared  to  vote  for  the  resolution  as  intro- 
duced by  the  committee,  why  do  so  ;  but  if 
you  think  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  every  man 
who  shall  lay  down  his  arms  shall  be  protected 
and  live  in  peace,  I  should  be  proud  to  have 
you  vote  with  me.  I  believe  that  is  enough. 
I  believe  it  will  have  the  effect  to  take  the 
wind  out  of  their  sails,  and  that  so  many  indi- 
viduals will  desire  to  come  home  that  it  will 
weaken  and  discourage  our  enemies.  But,  sir, 
if  you  force  them  all  out  of  your  protection — 
if  you  say  that  all  of  these  men  who  have  given 
aid  and  comfort  shall  be  deprived  of  their 
rights,  you  will  force  all  those  men  in  a  body 
against  you. 

It  has  been  urged  that  if  my  amendment  is 
agreed  to,  the  offices  in  the  State  of  Missouri 
will  go  into  the  hands  of  the  rebels.  I  have 
no  fears  of  that  at  all.  Not  a  solitary  rebel 
will  be  elected  to  Congress,  and  not  one  will 
be  elected  to  the  next  Legislature.  There  is 
no  sensible  man  in  Missouri  that  does  not  see, 
clear  as  the  sun  at  noonday,  that  there  is  no 
earthly  chance  to  take  Missouri  into  the 
Southern  Confederacy,  even  though  every 


Southern  State  maintains  itself;  seeing  that, 
no  man,  however  much  he  may  have  desired 
such  a  result,  will  again  use  his  efforts  to  stir 
up  another  civil  war  in  this  State  in  order  that 
his  friends  may  be  killed. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  have  examined  this 
proposition,  and  really,  it  seems  to  me,  there 
is  too  much  importance  given  to  the  provision 
proposed  to  be  struck  out  by  the  gentleman 
from  Green,  and  too  much  importance  given 
to  the  whole  ordinance.  The  gentleman  seems 
to  think  it  will  open  up  something  like  a  civil 
war  in  the  State  if  we  refuse  to  adopt  his 
proposition.  I  cannot  see  from  whence  such 
an  impression  comes.  I  do  not  desire  to  be 
harsh  upon  those  individuals  who  have  been 
seduced  from  the  path  of  duty,  as  far  as  their 
allegiance  to  the  Government  is  concerned,  and 
I  would  be  glad  to  adopt  some  policy  by  which 
to  restore  the  utmost  good  feeling  between  the 
loyal  men  and  the  disloyal  men  of  this  State. 
But  what  are  the  facts,  particularly  in  refer- 
ence to  the  district  of  country  from  which  my 
friend  hails?  Do  we  not  know  that  Missouri 
is  again  being  invaded  by  the  citizens  of 
Arkansas  and  of  our  own  State,  heretofore 
driven  out  by  our  soldiers?  The  fact  is,  I 
would  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that  at  this 
moment  an  army  is  approaching  the  Missouri 
river  from  the  south-west. 

Now,  here  is  a  proposition  to  exclude  a  cer- 
tain class  of  individuals  from  the  polls,  who 
have  been  actively  engaged  in  the  rebellion. 
It  does  not  exclude  anybody  else.  I  could  not 
vote  to  exclude  a  man  from  the  polls  who  has 
given  up  all  interest  in  the  rebellion.  If  a  man 
will  yield  obedience  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  and  take  an  oath  to  remain  a 
good  and  loyal  citizen  hereafter,  I  am  perfectly 
willing  that  he  shall  vote.  What  is  the  propo- 
sition, sir,  and  what  is  the  offense  of  which  we 
are  thinking?  It  is,  as  I  understand  it,  the 
offence  of  treason  against  the  United  Stales,  or 
treason,  if  you  please,  against  the  State  of 
Missouri,  if  there  be  such  a  thing  as  treason 
against  a  State.  Now,  the  proposition  is,  that 
those  individuals  who  are  desirous  of  over- 
turning the  Government  of  the  United  States 
shall  be  permitted  to  go  to  the  polls  and  accom- 
plish their  purpose  there.  Now  I  object  to 
that.  We  must  not  open  the  door  for  a  class 
of  men  who  will  cease  striking  at  the  military 
power  when  they  discover  an  opportunity  to 
strike  at  the  civil  Government  itself.  Are  you 
going  to  open  the  polls  again  and  proclaim  to 
disloyal  men  to  come  forward  and  vote?  I 


49 


trust  not.  But  if  persons  wish  to  renounce 
their  disloyalty  and  renew  their  allegiance  to 
this  Government,  I  am  perfectly  willing  to 
permit  them  to  come  and  exercise  their  rights, 
as  they  will  have  the  opportunity  to  do  under 
the  provisions  of  this  bill. 

Mr.  President,  the  gentleman  from  Greene 
supposes  that  the  judges  of  election  will  have 
the  trial  at  the  polls  in  regard  to  the  loyalty  of 
the  individuals  presenting  themselves.  If  that 
is  so,  I  am  against  the  ordinance.  I  do  not 
want  the  investigation  to  take  place  before 
the  judges  of  election  ;  first,  because  they  are 
not  qualified  to  treat  upon  this  question,  and 
in  the  second  place,  it  is  not  the  tribunal  here- 
tofore provided  by  the  State  or  National  Gov- 
ernment for  the  purpose  of  trying  the  question 
of  treason  or  disloyalty.  But  is  that  the  case  ? 
Why,  the  gentleman  will  find,  upon  examining 
the  fourth  section  of  the  bill,  that  he  is  greatly 
mistaken.  The  first  section  provides  that  those 
persons  who,  since  the  1st  day  of  August,  1861, 
have  taken  up  arms  against  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  or  levied  war — because  that 
is  the  term,  Mr.  President,  that  I  desire  to  see 
used  in  this  bill,  because,  as  said  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  St.  Louis,  (Mr.  Broadhead,)  it  is 
the  term  to  which  a  judicial  construction  has 
been  given — shall  not  be  permitted  to  vote.  I 
do  object  to  the  phraseology  of  the  section  as 
it  stands,  and  many  of  the  remarks  of  the 
gentleman  from  Livingston  are  proper  in  refer- 
ence to  these  words:  "adhered  to,  given  aid, 
assistance  or  encouragement,"  &c.  Now, 
suppose  a  disloyal  man  goes  to  the  polls  and 
offers  to  vote.  The  judges  require  him  to  take 
an  oath,  in  accordance  with  the  first  section,  in 
order  to  ascertain  whether  he  possesses  the 
qualifications  prescribed  in  the  first  section. 
If  he  refuses  to  take  the  oath,  it  is  evidence 
that  he  has  been  in  arms,  or  levied  war,  or 
given  aid  to  the  enemies  of  the  Government. 
Suppose  he  refuses  to  take  the  oath.  Then,  as 
I  understand  it,  the  ninth  section  comes  in  to 
his  relief,  and  permits  him,  if  he  is  willing  to 
be  a  loyal  citizen  hereafter,  to  take  the  oath 
and  to  vote.  The  gentleman  from  Greene  has 
misunderstood,  or  is  mistaken,  in  regard  to  this 
proposition.  He  says  many  men  have  been 
unavoidably  forced  into  the  rebellion,  and  that 
if  a  pnrty  has  been  forced  into  the  rebellion 
against  his  wishes,  or  in  order  to  save  his  own 
life,  this  bill  will  disfranchise  him.  Now, 
there  is  nothing  to  prevent  men  who  have  been 
forced  into  this  rebellion,  from  coming  for- 
ward and  taking  this  oath  prescribed  in  the 


ninth  section,  and  exercising  the  right  of  suf- 
frage. 

What  are  we  doing  ?  Are  we  not  endeavor- 
ing to  sustain  the  Government  ?  Have  we  not 
called  upon  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  to  send  thousands  of  troops  into  the 
State  for  the  purpose?  Then,  sir,  if  an  indi- 
vidual is  not  willing  to  abjure  his  allegiance  to 
the  Confederate  Government  and  give  up  his 
opposition  to  the  Constitution  of  his  country, 
he  ought  not  to  be  entitled  to  vote.  I  do  not 
want  to  exclude  men  unnecessarily  from  the 
polls,  and  this  bill  proposes  nothing  of  the  kind. 
The  gentleman  has  alluded  to  the  subject  of 
the  challenge,  and  says  the  judges  of  election 
have  no  right  to  exclude  a  man  from  the  polls. 
Not  by  any  means.  If  the  gentleman  offers  to 
vote,  the  judges  will  ask  him,  in  the  first  place  : 
"Are  you  qualified?"  If  he  says  "I  am  not 
willing  to  take  that  oath  in  the  first  section," 
he  cannot  vote.  If  he  says,  "I  have  been 
engaged  in  the  rebellion,  but  I  desire  now  to 
renounce  all  allegiance  to  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy," then  the  judges  can  administer  the 
oath  in  the  ninth  section,  and  he  can  vote.  If 
he  refuses  to  take  the  oath  in  the  ninth  section, 
then  the  question  comes  up  as  in  the  case  of  all 
challenged  voters  in  accordance  with  the  forty- 
fourth  section  of  the  election  act.  Now,  if  a 
person  presents  himself  and  takes  the  oath, 
and  a  party  challenges  his  vote  and  says,  "this 
fellow  is  not  entitled  to  vote,"  then  he  has 
made  himself  liable  to  the  pains  and  penalties 
of  perjury.  He  is  entitled  to  vote,  but  the 
judges  must  put  down  his  name  and  the  name 
of  the  candidate  for  whom  he  offers  to  vote. 
The  candidate  may  be  elected  to  the  Legisla- 
ture. But  suppose  he  may  have  had  a  large 
number  of  challenged  votes?  Then  the  op- 
posing candidate  may  go  before  the  Legislature 
and  say,  "I  ask  ihat  my  competitor  may  not 
be  permitted  to  take  his  seat,  and  that  I  may 
be  permitted  to  do  so."  Then  the  Legislature 
will  determine  on  the  qualifications  of  these 
challenged  voters,  and  not  the  judges  of  election 
on  the  day  of  election.  The  action  here  pro- 
posed is  not  impracticable  at  all,  and  it  will 
not  involve  the  State  in  another  civil  war,  as 
gentlemen  have  contended. 

Again,  when  a  person  offers  to  vote,  and  you 
are  satisfied  he  has  given  aid  or  assistance  to 
the  enemy,  what  is  the  duty  of  the  judges  of 
election  ?  It  is  to  take  the  name  of  the  party 
and  the  name  of  the  candidate  for  whom  he 
offers  to  vote.  The  judges  then  go  before  the 
Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  and  present  the  fact 


50 


in  regard  to  the  qualifications  of  the  voter,  and 
the  question  is  then  tried  exactly  as  you  try 
any  other  question. 

Mr.  President,  when  I  first  looked  over  the 
ordinance  I  did  not  think  I  should  vote  for  the 
ninth  section.  In  my  view  of  the  subject,  it  is 
giving  them  as  much  as  they  can  reasonably 
expect.  When  this  rebellion  is  over — when  I 
am  satisfied  it  is  over — I  will  be  willing  that 
every  man  who  comes  into  the  State  of  Missouri 
and  conducts  himself  as  a  peaceable  and  loyal 
citizen,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  j  and  I,  as  a 
member  of  a  Legislative  body,  would  vote  to 
restore  a  man  to  all  the  rights  of  citizenship, 
when  it  became  evident  that  he  was  sincere  in 
his  loyalty  to  the  Government.  But  can  gen- 
tlemen complain,  who  have  been  engaged  for 
the  last  twelve  months  in  levying  war  against 
the  peace  of  this  country,  and  who  have 
brought  all  our  troubles  upon  us,  and  who  are 
to-day  endangering  the  institutions  of  Missouri 
and  every  State  in  the  Union — can  they  com- 
plain when  we  say,  "  inasmuch  as  you  are 
levying  war  against  us,  and  can  more  success- 
fully do  it  by  coming  to  the  polls,  we  have, 
therefore,  seen  fit  to  place  restrictions  over 
you,  with  a  view  of  preventing  you  from 
inflicting  the  terrors  of  the  past  upon  us  again  ? 
Can  they  object  to  such  action  on  our  part? 
I  think,  on  the  contrai  y,  that  they  will  consider 
it  proper  and  right,  and  no  more  than  they 
could  reasonably  expect.  Sir,  if  I  had  been 
seduced  into  a  position  against  my  Government, 
I  kno-.v  I  would  be  willing  to  take  upon  my- 
self the  penalty  prescribed  by  the  bill,  and 
submit  to  it  until  the  termination  of  the  war. 
Are  you  willing  to  permit  a  man  who  comes 
jn  and  offers  to  vote,  but  is  not  willing  to  take 
the  oath  that  he  has  wilfully  been  in  arms 
against  the  Government,  to  take  the  oa*h  that 
he  will  be  loyal  to  the  Government  in  the 
future?  There  is  nothing  else  in  the  ninth 
section.  Do  you  suppose  there  is  any  man  in 
Price's,  Van  Dorn's,  or  Beauregard's  army, 
to-day,  who  will  not  say  that  he  took  up  arms 
"  under  a  supposed  obligation  of  duty,"  accord- 
ing to  the  phraseology  of  this  ninth  section? 
If  he  did  not  take  up  arms  "under  a  supposed 
obligation  of  duty,"  he  is  a  very  demon,  and 
jou^ht  never  to  be  permitted  to  exercise  the 
rights  of  a  citizen.  But  if  he  comes  in  and 
say?,  "I  was  seduced  into  this  thing  and  was 
mistaken,"  or  "I  took  up  arms  through  fraud- 
ulent misrepresentations,"  then  he  will  be 
allowed  to  vote  under  this  ninth  section.  In 
fact,  the  language  is  sufficiently  broad  to  cover 


almost  every  conceivable  idea  in  which  a  man 
may  have  been  seduced  from  fidelity  to  his 
Government. 

Mr.  ORR.  Would  you  make  a  man  come  up 
and  swear  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  treason  ? 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  It  seems  to  me  it  is  no 
great  dishonor  for  a  man  to  admit  the  fact 
when  it  is  notorious.  But  I  think  the  gentle- 
man from  Greene  is  mistaken.  The  oath  in  the 
ninth  section  does  not  require  that  a  man  shall 
swear  he  has  committed  treason.  It  simply 
nullifies  the  first  part  of  the  ordinance.  It  is  a 
clear  absolution  of  all  past  offences,  without 
an  acknowledgment  on  the  part  of  the  of- 
fender. 

Mr.  CALHOUN.  I  would  like  to  ask  my 
colleague  a  question.  I  know  many  good  men 
in  my  county— your  constituents  and  mine — 
who  are  now  under  bonds  of  from  $5,OCO  to 
$10,000  that  they  have  never  taken  up  arms, 
but  simply  sympathized  with  the  South.  Now, 
if  these  men  come  forward  to  the  polls  to  vote, 
will  you  require  them  to  take  this  oath  or  not? 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  The  ninth  section  will 
let  them  vote. 

Mr.  CALHOUN.  Do  you  require  that  addi- 
tional oath? 

Mr.  HENDERSON.     Which  one? 

Mr.  CALHOUN.  The  one  prescribed  in  this 
ordinance  for  voters  to  take. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.     I  suppose  so. 

Mr.  CALHOUN.  My  neighbors  have  taken 
the  oath  half  a  dozen  times  already.  Every 
new  commander  that  comes  along  will  pre- 
scribe a  new  oath. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Well,  I  cannot  vote 
without  taking  an  oath,  and  the  gentleman 
himself  cannot;  and  if  he  wants  to  let  these 
gentlemen  who  are  under  bonds 

Mr.  CALHOUN.  But  they  cannot  be  permit- 
ted to  vote  under  the  provisions  of  this  bill.  I 
might  be  expelled  because  I  was  compelled  by 
men  in  Price's  army  to  do  what  would  be  con- 
strued into  aid  and  comfort.  I  was  compelled 
to  do  this  for  my  own  safety. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  think  I  have  already 
answered  that  objection— that  if  a  person  who 
has  given  aid  to  the  enemies  of  his  country 
could  show  the  fact  that  they  came  in  sufficient 
numbers  to  force  him  to  do  what  he  did,  then 
he  will  not  be  deprived  from  voting.  The  first 
part  of  the  ordinance  looks  formidable  indeed, 
but  the  ninth  section  comes  in  and  knocks  that 
away — destroys  the  whole  tiling — and  says  a 
man  may  be  entitled  to  vote  if  he  can  show 
good  cause.  If  he  is  willing  to  come  up 


51 


Mr.  CALHOUN.  Well,  these  men  have  gone 
up. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Then  they  ought  to  take 
the  oath,  and  act  up  to  it.  But  I  have  said  all 
I  desire  to  say.  I  see  the  gentleman  is  becom- 
ing sensitive. 

Mr.  CALHODN.    No,  I  am  not. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  wish  to  say  that  I  am 
willing  to  vote  for  the  ninth  section,  notwith- 
standing gentlemen  think  it  will  produce  civil 
war.  If  a  man  cannot  take  the  oath  which  is 
therein  prescribed,  he  ought  never  to  be  per- 
mitted to  vote. 

Mr.  SMITH,  of  St.  Louis.  There  is  an  in- 
consistency in  this  ordinance  that  will  prevent 
me  from  voting  for  it.  In  the  second  section 
it  says  no  person  shall  vote,  at  any  election  to 
be  hereafter  held  in  this  State,  who  shall  not 
take  an  oath  that  he  has  not,  since  the  1st  day  of 
August,  1861,  taken  up  arms,  or  levied  war, 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
or  the  Provisional  Government  of  the  State  of 
Missouri.  In  this  ninth  section  it  says  they 
may  vote 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  proposition  be- 
fore the  Convention  is  the  adoption  of  the 
amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Greene. 

Mr.  SMITH.  I  am  well  aware  of  that ;  but 
I  believe  other  gentlemen  have  travelled  over 
the  whole  ordinance.  My  object  is  to  propose 
that  the  Committee  now  rise  and  report  to  the 
Convention,  after  which  I  will  move  to  re-com- 
mit the  whole  ordinance. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  In  the  opinion  of 
the  Chair,  the  Convention  is  not  in  Committee 
of  the  Whole. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  think  so.  There  has 
been  no  motion  to  go  into  Committee  of  the 
Whole. 

Mr.  WILSON.  Before  the  gentleman  (Mr. 
McFerran)  proceeds  with  his  remarks,  I  would 
like  to  ask  him  a  question.  At  one  of  the  for- 
mer sessions  of  this  Convention  a  sort  of  am- 
nesty act  was  passed,  inviting  the  return  of  va- 
rious persons  from  the  army,  and  elsewhere, 
who  had  been  guilty  of  offences  against  the 
Government,  and  insuring  them  protection  for 
the  future.  I  would  ask  the  gentleman  what 
provision  he  has  made  for  that  very  numerous 
class  which  I  have  no  doubt  did  return  and  take 
the  oath  in  accordance  with  that  amnesty  reso- 
lution. Now,  is  it  intended  by  this  ordinance 
to  exclude  that  very  numerous  class  ?  From 
all  that  I  can  see  upon  the  face  of  the  ordi- 
nance that  is  the  determination  of  the  Commit- 


tee, as  indicated  in  the  report.  Now,  it  seems 
to  me,  Mr.  President,  that  that  would  be  an  act 
of  bad  faith  on  the  part  of  this  Convention,  to 
invite  citizens  to  lay  down  their  arms  and  cease 
their  acts  of  rebellion,  and  promise  them  full 
immunity  for  the  future,  and  then,  at  a  subse- 
quent session  of  the  Convention,  disfranchise 
these  same  people  that  we  admitted  as  citizens. 
It  does  seem  to  me  there  is  a  very  numerous 
class  of  people  in  this  State  who  ought  to  be 
exempted  from  the  operation  of  the  provisions 
of  this  bill.  I  have  understood  that  a  great 
many  persons,  in  various  parts  of  the  State,  in 
conformity  with  the  resolution  passed  by  this 
body,  did  file  their  oaths  of  allegiance  to  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  and  for  aught 
I  know,  have  abided  by  and  fulfilled  the  obli- 
gations they  took  upon  themselves,  and 

Mr.  SMITH,  of  St.  Louis.  I  insist  upon  my 
point  of  order.  My  object  is  to  let  an  ordinance 
be  submitted  that  we  can  all  agree  to. 

Mr.  WILSON.  According  to  the  decision  of 
the  Chair,  the  motion  to  re-commit  is  in  order. 
Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  hope  the  Convention  will 
not  re-commit  this  report  at  this  time.  The 
amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Greene  brings  up  a  vital  question,  and  a  ques- 
tion which  must  be  determined  before  the  Con- 
vention can  make  a  report  that  will  be  intelli- 
gible, or  will  cover  the  whole  ground  in  rela- 
tion to  this  question.  The  great  question  now 
before  the  Convention  is  whether  the  Conven- 
tion will  pass  an  ordinance  that  will  be  retro- 
spective in  its  action — whether  they  will  exclude 
men  from  the  elective  franchise  on  account  of 

their  past  acts. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  do  not  understand  that  the  gen- 
tleman from  St.  Louis  has  made  a  motion  to 
re-commit. 

Mr.  SMITH.  I  intimated  that  if  the  Com- 
mittee rose  I  would  then  make  such  a  motion 
in  Convention. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  I  will  state  to  the 
gentleman  from  St.  Louis  that,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Chair,  the  Convention  is  not  in  Commit- 
tee of  the  Whole,  and  that  a  motion  to  re-com- 
mit is  in  order. 

Mr.  SMITH.  If  the  Convention  is  not  in 
Committee  of  the  Whole,  then  I  will  make 
the  motion  to  re-commit. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Under  a  motion  to  re-com- 
mit, a  party  cannot  discuss  the  merits  of  the 
bill,  as  I  understand  it. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  And  that  is  just  what  I 
was  going  to  talk  about  when  I  was  interrupt 
ed.  The  position  I  assume,  is  this :  that  the 


52 


Convention  must  decide  the  question  raised  by 
the  gentleman  from  Greene.  If  the  ordinance 
is  to  be  made  retrospective  as  to  voters  and  of- 
fice holders,  or  prospective  as  to  voters  and  re- 
trospective as  to  office  holders,  then  the  ques- 
tion must  be  decided  by  this  Convention,  and 
nothing  can  be  made  by  a  re-committal  until 
that  question  is  decided.  The  question  raised 
by  the  amendment  is  one  of  great  magnitude 
and  importance,  and  one  that  will  require  all 
the  wisdom  and  intelligence  of  this  Conven- 
tion to  decide.  The  Committee  might  decide 
one  way,  as  they  have  reported,  and  the  Con- 
vention might  decide  another  way.  Therefore, 
to  facilitate  the  business  of  the  Convention,  I 
hope  the  ordinance  will  not  be  re-committed 
until  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from 
Greene  is  acted  upon. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  I  desire  to  ask  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  a  question  or  two.  The 
gentleman  from  Pike  (Mr.  Henderson)  in  his 
argument  here,  assumes  that  the  method  by 
which  the  loyalty  of  voters  is  to  be  ascertained 
is  all  contained  in  this  second  section,  and  I  un- 
derstand the  gentleman  from  Greene  proposes 
to  strike  out  the  first  section  as  wholly  unmean- 
ing. I  want  to  know  what  it  is  that  is  to  be 
applied  to  voters  other  than  what  is  in  the 
second  section. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  only  question 
before  the  Convention  is  on  re-committing  the 
ordinance. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.    I  ask  this  for  information. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  will  answer  the  distin- 
guished gentleman  from  Clay,  that  I  only  re- 
gard the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from 
Greene  as  important  because  of  the  fact  that  its 
determination  will  settle  the  principle  by  which 
this  Convention  is  to  be  governed.  As  to  the 
first  section,  I  think  it  may  as  well  be  stricken 
out.  I  will  state  this,  in  justice  to  the  Com- 
mittee, that  in  preparing  this  ordinance  we  did 
it  in  great  haste,  because  the  Convention  was 
waiting  for  it,  and  under  the  spur  of  the  mo- 
ment, as  it  were,  this  ordinance  was  agreed  to. 
Since  I  have  had  time  to  reflect  and  consider, 
and  scan  it  all  through,  I  am  satisfied  that  the 
first  section  may  be  stricken  out  entirely,  and 
that  the  ordinance  will  not  be  changed  at  all. 
The  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Greene 
is  of  the  first  importance,  because  it  involves  the 
question  whether  acts  retrospective  shall  be 
made  to  bear  upon  the  right  of  the  voter,  or 
whether  they  shall  be  prospective  only.  I  deem 
this  enough  to  state  on  the  motion  to  re-com- 
mit. 


Mr.  HOWELL.  As  another  member  of  that 
Committee  I  concur  with  the  Chairman,  with 
whom  I  differed,  so  far  as  the  ordinance  is  con- 
cerned, that  its  re-commitment  would  amount 
to  nothing. 

The  motion  to  re-commit  was  lost. 

Mr.  SHANKLIN.  I  believe  the  whole  of  the 
first  section  is  fraught  with  mischief,  but  at 
the  same  time  I  believe  there  is  nothing  really 
vital  in  it,  or  practical  at  all.  Whatever  the 
Committee  thought  practical  in  the  first  section 
is  resolved  by  the  second,  and  the  first  section, 
therefore,  is  simply  a  barren  declaration,  and 
contains  nothing  practical,  and  hence  I  moved 
to  strike  it  out,  when  I  was  declared  out  of  or- 
der. The  pending  motion  is  to  strike  out  a 
part  of  that  section,  which  I  believe  to  be  all 
wrong,  and  hence  I  shall  vote  for  the  motion  to 
strike  out. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  differ  very  widely  from  the 
gentleman  from  Pike  in  regard  to  the  import- 
ance of  the  proposition  now  before  the  Conven- 
tion. He  intimated  in  the  remarks  he  made  a 
short  time  ago,  that  we  were  attaching  too 
much  importance  to  the  question  now  before 
us. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  As  to  the  amendment. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  am  speaking  in  reference  to 
that.  That,  in  my  opinion,  is  a  vital  question. 
It  is  one  upon  the  proper  determination  of 
which  depends  more  in  the  State  of  Missouri 
than,  perhaps,  any  other  question  that  will  be 
submitted  to  this  Convention.  I  take  it  for 
granted  that  we  are  all  here  for  the  same  great 
purpose ;  that  all  we  desire  is  to  see  this  Gov- 
ernment restored  to  its  former  supremacy.  We 
want  to  see  peace  and  harmony  once  more. 
The  only  things  that  divide  us  here  are  our 
different  views  or  plans  for  accomplishing  the 
same  result.  Some  gentlemen  think  it  makes 
little  difference  what  plan  we  adopt  to  attain 
the  end  we  desire ;  but,  sir,  upon  the  character 
of  the  plan  settled  upon  here  depends  the  suc- 
cess of  the  measure  itself.  I  presume  every 
man  in  this  Convention  desires  to  see  the  State 
of  Missouri  remain  under  the  control  of  loyal 
men ;  and  I  presume  that  every  man  of  com- 
mon sense  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  who  is  not 
an  outlaw  at  heart,  now  desires  to  see  the  State 
remain  under  the  control  of  loyal  men.  Upon 
that  point,  then,  we  are  agreed.  The  question 
is, -how  shall  we  attain  that  object  in  the  most 
executive  manner,  and  what  measures  shall  we 
adopt  in  order  to  achieve  the  great  end  that 
will  be  attained  with  the  least  danger  and  dif- 
ficulty? That  is  the  proposition  now  before  the 


53 


house  ;  and  I  presume  it  is  the  desire  of  every 
member  of  this  Convention,  MS  far  as  possible, 
to  stand  upon  that  plank.  And  in  this  connec- 
tion, Mr.  President,  I  shall  be  compelled,  in  my 
remarks  in  reference  to  this  amendment,  to  dis" 
cuss  the  merits  of  another  matter  in  connection 
therewith,  (and  although  it  may  not  be  strictly 
in  order  to  do  so,  I  hope  I  shall  be  indulged  by 
the  Convention,  if  I  should  be  considered  out 
of  order,)  and  tbat  is  the  ordinance  offered  by 
the  gentleman  from  Monroe,  (Mr.  Ho  well). 

Now,  starting  out  with  the  proposition  that 
we  all  desire  the  State  of  Missouri  to  remain 
under  the  control  of  loyal  men, — I  am  for  that, 
and  I  believe  tlie  best  plan  to  reach  that  point 
successfully,  and  without  convulsing  the  State — 
without  creating  excitement,  and,  perhaps,  pre- 
judice and  warfare — is  to  have  no  election  at  all, 
except  for  members  of  Congress.  The  Com. 
mittee,  sir,  who  have  reported  upon  the  elec- 
tive franchise,  seem  to  have  been  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  the  view  I  am  now  sug- 
gesting, as  far  as  a  part  of  the  elections  are 
concerned.  They  agreed,  I  believe  unanimous- 
ly, that  it  would  be  for  the  interest  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  to  have  no  election  for  Governor  and 
State  officers.  Sir,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  argument  can  be  used  in  favor  of  that 
proposition  that  will  not  bear  with  equal  force 
upon  the  other.  I  want  to  know,  if  the  people 
of  Missouri  are  in  no  condition  to  elect  an  Ex- 
ecutive, are  they  in  a  condition  to  elect  those 
who  will  make  laws  to  be  executed  ? 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  With  the  permission  of 
the  gentleman,  I  desire  to  say  that  it  was  the 
majority  of  the  Committee  that  reported  the 
ordinance  continuing  in  office  the  Governor, 
Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State. 

Mr.  Moss.  Well,  I  have  not  seen  any  mi- 
nority report.  But  to  return  to  the  point  I 
was  urging.  I  believe,  as  I  remarked,  that  the 
object  which  we  all  desire  is  that  the  State 
shall  remain  under  the  control  of  loyal  men, 
and  this  can  be  accomplished  successfully — 
more  so  than  by  any  other  plan — by  adopting 
the  plan  which  has  been  submitted  by  Mr. 
Howell.  I  hear  gentlemen  argue  in  behalf  of 
the  proposition  for  having  an  election  in  this 
way.  I  think  my  friend  from  Buchanan,  who 
addressed  the  Convention  yesterday,  urged,  as 
an  argument  in  favor  of  that  view  of  the  case, 
that  it  was  advisable  to  get  back  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible to  the  old  order  of  things ;  that  we  should 
as  soon  as  possible  return  to  the  people,  and 
give  them  an  opportunity  to  exercise  the  pow- 
er, which  they  already  have,  of  choosing  their 


own  rulers,  and  taking  their  own  affairs  into 
their  own  hands. 

I  concur  with  the  gentleman  from  Buchanan 
(Mr.  Hall)  in  his  view  of  the  subject;  and  I 
would  ask,  Mr.  President,  if  it  is  returning  to 
the  old  order  of  things  to  say  to  the  people  of 
Missouri  that  you  shall  have  an  election,  but 
that  only  a  certain  class  of  our  citizens  shall 
be  permitted  to  vote  ?  That  is  not  the  old  or- 
der of  things,  Mr.  President.  We  have  never 
had  such  an  order  of  things  in  Missouri  as  that, 
and  I  tell  you  it  may  be  contended  that  this  Con- 
vention, by  continuing  itself  in  existence,  with 
the  Provisional  Government,  will  make  itself 
odious  to  the  people.  But,  Mr.  President,  it 
will  not  render  itself  half  so  odious  by  action 
of  that  sort  as  it  will  by  taunting  the  people 
with  the  mockery  of  an  election — to  have  such 
a  miserable  farce  as  would  be  enacted  under 
the  provisions  of  this  bill.  I  tell  you  it  is  tri- 
fling with  the  people  to  attempt  to  palm  such  a 
thing  as  that  upon  the  people  as  an  election. 
Why,  what  is  an  election  ?  It  is  the  permission 
of  the  people  to  choose  their  own  rulers  and 
law-makers — not  to  a  portion  of  the  people,  but 
to  the  whole  people.  Now,  I  want  to  be  under- 
stood in  this  proposition.  I  am  not  in  favor  of 
having  an  election,  with  all  the  restrictions  with- 
drawn from  the  people ;  but  I  am  in  favor  of 
having  no  election  at  all,  because  I  do  not  be- 
lieve the  people  are  in  a  condition  to  hold  one. 
That  is  my  view  of  the  subject.  I  want  the 
people  to  have  an  election  whenever  they  can 
have  it  free  and  untrammeled ;  but  until  that 
state  of  case  exists  in  the  State  of  Missouri, 
we  have  no  use  for  an  election. 

There  may  be  objections  urged  to  the  propo- 
sition I  am  making,  and  I  have  mentioned  some 
of  them.  This  Convention  may  be  charged 
with  being  in  favor  of  perpetuating  its  own  ex- 
istence, and  things  of  that  sort.  In  times  like 
these — in  revolutionary  times — when  the  peo- 
ple arc  mad,  when  reason  has  been  dethroned, 
it  will  be  impossible  for  a  body  like  this  to  act 
without  offending  somebody,  and  without  rais- 
ing objections  on  the  part  of  a  large  number  of 
people.  Every  measure  will  have  its  objection, 
but  the  question  is  whether  this  plan  is  not  lia- 
ble to  fewer  objections  than  any  other  plan  that 
has  been  submitted. 

My  opinion  is  that  that  action  would  meet 
with  the  approval  of  the  people  of  Missouri — I 
mean  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  Mis- 
souri. Although  a  great  many  were  hostile  to 
the  Provisional  Government  when  it  was  es- 
tablished, yet  they  have  become  reconciled  to 


54 


it,  their  passions  have  calmed  down,  and  they 
have  been  pleased  with  the  administration  of 
affairs   on  the  part  of  Gov.  Gamble  and  the 
other  gentlemen  holding  office  in  the  State  of 
Missouri.    In  short,  they  have  become  satisfied 
with  the  men  selected  by  this  Convention  for 
the  State  offices,  with  the  appointments  made  by 
the  Governor,  and  with  the  men  who  have  been 
sent  to  represent  us  in  the  national  councils. 
They  have  come  to  believe  that  a  large  major- 
ity of  this  Convention  are  conservative  patriots, 
and  that  they  have  at  heart  the  interests  of  our 
common  country,  and  every  day  the  Provisional 
Government  is  gaining  favor  and  strength,  and 
the  people  are  becoming  well  reconciled  to  it. 
But  what  do  you  propose  here  ri     You  propose 
that  a  portion  of  the  people  of  Missouri  shall 
vote  and  that  a  portion  shall  not.     Why,  sir, 
the  public  mind  is  already  sensitive — delicately 
go — upon  the  great  questions  now  agitating  the 
nation.     While  our  hearts  have  been  rejoiced 
at  the   successes   of  the  Federal  arms,  while 
every  patriot  in  the  land  has  been  filled  with 
hope  in  the  pleasing  anticipation  that  one  day 
our  great  Government  would  be  restored  upon 
its  ancient  foundations,  and  that  peace  and  har- 
mony would  once  more  dwell  among  us,  we 
have  been  startled  by  the  intelligence  that  has 
flashed  over  the  wires  in  regard  to  a  certain 
movement  that  is  being  proposed  in  our  Na- 
tional Legislature.     We  see  a  dark  cloud  above 
us  from   whose  lurid  bosom  we  are  looking 
hourly  to  witness  the  thunderbolt  start  that 
will  bring  ruin  and  desolation  to  the  land.  The 
action  of  this  Convention  will  not  only  have  a 
telling  effect  upon  the  action  in  the  national 
capitol,  but  it  will  have  a  telling  effect  upon 
the  people  of  Missouri.     Great  movements  are 
going  on,  and,  as  one  of  the  members  remarked 
to-day,   it  is   useless  to    attempt    to   conceal 
great  facts  that  are  already  known  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Missouri.     Sir,  there  is  a  movement  on 
foot  at  Washington  City  that  is  being  urged 
by  the  radical  Republicans,  I  should  rather 
say  Abolitionists,  that  may  ruin  everything 
that  has  been  achieved  by  the  Federal  arms 
and  the  conservative  men  everywhere.    I  say  it 
is  useless  to  attempt  to  conceal  from  this  body, 
or  from  the  people  of  Missouri,  that  a  move- 
ment is' on  foot  at  Washington,  (and  it  has  a 
branch  in  the  State  of  Missouri)  to  declare  the 
slaves  of  this  State  free.    Now,  sir,  the  action 
of  this  Convention  may  have  a  great  effect  upon 
this  movement.     The  people  are  watching  us 
with  anxiety,  and  we  must  walk  with  care  or 
by  some  misstep  we  may  place  the  State  under 


the  control  of  the  very  men  whose  acts  we  now 
dread  thus  far  more  than  we  dread  the  South- 
ern secessionists.  Their  power  has  been  para- 
lyzed and  subdued ;  our  arms  have  been  suc- 
cessful, and  the  great  military  question,  as  I 
think,  almost  decided ;  and,  sir,  the  greatest 
enemy  now  to  the  Government  is  to  be  found 
in  your  radical  party  in  your  National  Legisla- 
ture. There  is  no  enemy  that  presents  itself 
now  over  the  broad  country  as  the  one  that 
now  holds  power  in  the  National  Legislature. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  want  to  show  you, 
according  to  my  view  of  the  thing,  the  practi- 
cal working  of  this  question.  It  proposes  to 
place  restrictions  that  shall  be  retrospective, 
not  only  upon  the  candidate  but  upon  the  voter. 
What  will  the  people  of  Missouri  say  ?  They 
will  say  you  have  tied  our  hands;  you  not 
only  say  that  certain  men  shall  hold  office,  but 
you  undertake  to  say  who  shall  vote  for  these 
men. 

Mr.  President,  I  am  in  favor  of  the  amend- 
ment of  the  gentleman  from  Green,  if  we  are 
to  have  an  election.  As  I  remarked  before,  I 
am  not  in  favor  of  withdrawing  all  restrictions 
from  the  people  of  Missouri.  The  salvation 
of  the  State  depends  upon  keeping  loyal  men 
in  office,  and  I  think  the  proposition  of  the 
gentleman  from  Green  will  accomplish  that 
matter.  The  retrospective  restriction,  accord- 
ing to  his  amendment,  merely  applies  to  the 
candidate  and  not  to  the  voter.  It  proposes  to 
make  the  voters  take  an  oath  as  to  what  they 
will  do  in  the  future,  but  it  does  not  go  back. 
Now  look  at  the  practical  working  of  this  thing. 
I  recollect  last  evening  that  Mr.  Hall  made  this 
remark — that  he  had  no  confidence  in  the  suc- 
cessof  our  efforts,  with  the  restrictions  applying 
merely  to  the  candidate— that  if  the  people  of 
a  county  were  disloyal  they  would  send  dis- 
loyal men — or,  in  other  words,  that  the  candi- 
date, for  the  purpose  of  getting  into  power, 
would  cater  to  the  prejudice  of  the  secession 
element.  There  are  two  sides  to  this  question* 
Mr.  President.  The  objection  might  be  urged 
on  the  other  side  against  an  ultra  man  running 
for  office.  If  you  do  not  permit  all  the  people 
to  vote,  you  give  them  no  choice  between  a 
Union  man  and  a  loyal  man.  I  am  in  favor  of 
making  the  restrictions  apply  to  the  candidate, 
and  of  telling  the  voters  they  have  a  right  to 
choose  between  a  Union  man  and  a  loyal  man. 
But  the  gentleman  from  Buchanan  says  it  will 
not  do — that  if  a  good,  loyal  man  runs  for  office, 
some  one  of  the  candidates  will  commence 
electioneering  with  the  secessionists  and  pan- 


55 


dering  to  their  prejudices  in  order  to  get  into 
office.  That  may  be  an  objection.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  suppose  one  of  these  radical 
gentlemen  is  running.  I  want  the  people  to 
have  the  privilege  of  choosing  between  him 
and  a  conservative  Union  man,  and  I  want  all 
the  people  to  have  that  privilege.  If  a  man 
presents  himself  as  a  candidate  in  the  State  of 
Missouri  whose  policy  is  fatal  and  destructive 
to  the  interests  of  our  State,  and  to  the  Union, 
and  the  great  cause  we  are  all  engaged  in,  I 
want  to  have  the  privilege  of  choosing  between 
him  and  a  conservative  man.  These  men  all 
claim  to  be  loyal.  These  radicals  whose  plans, 
in  my  humble  judgment,  would  lead  to  the 
destruction  and  ruin  of  the  country,  all  claim 
to  be  loyal.  They  are  loyal  men  and  for  the 
Union,  they  say.  But,  sir,  this  is  a  mere  de- 
claration, while  they  are  favoring  a  policy  so 
destruc'ive  to  us;  and  if  we  have  an  election, 
therefore,  I  want  the  restrictions  to  apply  to 
the  candidate  alone.  I  want  the  people  to  have 
the  privilege  of  selecting  between  loyal  men 
and  Union  men,  in  order  that  we  may  continue 
the  State  under  the  control  of  conservative 
Union  men.  I  say,  if  we  are  to  have  an  elec- 
tion, which  I  am  opposed  to,  I  am  in  favor  of 
the  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Green. 
My  friend  from  Pike  undertook  to  answer 
the  objections  made  by  the  gentleman  from 
Livingston  and  others,  and  I  do  not  think  he 
did  so  successfully.  The  idea,  sir,  of  under- 
taking (I  am  speaking  of  the  practical  work- 
ings of  this  thing)  to  determine  this  question 
when  2,000  or  3,000  voters  present  themselves 
at  the  polls  in  one  day!  In  St.  Louis,  I  sup- 
pose, 1,200  voters  would  present  themselves  in 
one  precinct  at  the  same  place  of  voting.  Is  it 
even  possible  to  pass  upon  their  qualifications 
in  one  day? 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  It  was  done  last  Spring 
in  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  Moss.  Well,  you  are  a  very  fast  peo- 
ple, in  the  midst  of  telegraphs  and  railroads. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  The  oath  prescribed  by 
Gen.  Halleck  was  administered  without  any 
trouble. 

Mr.  Moss.  It  is  a  very  different  thing  ad 
ministering  an  oath  to  a  man  and  having  a 
trial  to  determine  whether  or  not  he  has  ever 
aided  or  encouraged  rebellion.  If  the  oath 
was  the  only  thing  to  be  administered  it  would 
be  different.  The  gentleman  from  Pike  under 
takes  to  say  there  is  no  harm  in  the  first  sec 
tion  provided  the  9th  section  is  adopted.  Now 
I  wish  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  gentleman 


rom  Pike  to  the  language  of  the  9th  section, 
and  then  to  the  language  of  the  1st  section. 
The  9th  refers  to  no  human  being  except  some 
man  who  has  been  levying  war.  Well,  it 
would  be  well  if  gentlemen  would  keep  in 
view  what  levying  war  means.  It  is  only 
hose  who  have  been  actually  levying  war 
against  the  United  States  who  can  get  any  re- 
ief  under  the  9th  section,  and  are  they  the 
only  individuals  included  in  the  1st  section? 
Let  us  see.  The  1st  section  disfranchises  every 
man  who  has  given  aid  or  encouragement,  or 
evied  war. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  What  is  the  gentleman's 
definition  of  levying  war — as  a  lawyer  1 

Mr.  Moss.  I  will  let  the  gentleman  give 
lis  own  definition. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  What  does  the  gentleman 
understand  by  it  ? 

Mr.  Moss.  That  he  may  encourage  by 
words,  for  instance.  But  they  are  not  relieved 
under  the  9th  section.  The  9th  section  relieves 
only  such  as  have  been  levying  war,  but  the 
1st  section  includes  everybody. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  With  the  permission  of 
the  gentleman  I  would  like  to  correct  him,  in- 
asmuch as  he  has  attempted  to  answer  my  ar- 
gument. I  will  state  to  the  gentleman,  dis- 
tinctly, that  I  object  to  the  words  in  the  first 
section,  and  that  I  was  in  favor  of  the  proposi- 
tion of  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  (Mr. 
Broadhead.)  I  object  to  the  words  used  in  the 
first  section  of  the  ordinance  and  would  make 
them  correspond  with  those  in  the  9th  section. 

Mr.  Moss.  Well,  let  us  get  rid  of  it  en- 
tirely. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  That  would  leave  no 
qualifications  for  the  voter  at  all. 

Mr.  Moss.  If  my  friend  from  Pike  desires 
to  have  his  views  carried  out  in  accordance 
with  the  interpretation  he  gave  of  the  9th  sec. 
tion,  then  there  is  no  reason  in  the  world  why 
we  should  retain  the  1st  section.  The  2d  sec- 
tion prescribes  what  oath  the  voters  shall  take, 
and  my  friend  from  Green  says  he  does  not  ob- 
ject to  that,  and  neither  do  I.  I  will  again  state 
my  position.  I  am  opposed  to  having  an  elec- 
tion, except  for  members  of  Congress,  and  I 
am  in  favor  of  putting  them  off  as  long  as  pos- 
sible. But,  if  we  have  any  election,  I  want 
the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Green 
adopted.  I  do  not  want  any  man  in  power  in 
Missouri  who  has  heretofore  been  mixed  up 
with  the  rebellion ;  but  when  you  come  to  the 
voters,  I  am  for  leaving  them  free,  except  as 
to  what  they  will  do  in  the  future.  In  other 


56 


words,  I  want  every  candidate  in  the  field  to 
be  a  loyal  man  and  a  Union  man.  If  we  are 
to  have  an  election,  I  want  it  in  that  shape.  I 
am  opposed,  however,  to  any  election  until  it 
can  be  untrammeled.  I  want  to  get  back  to  the 
old  order  of  things  as  soon  as  practicable,  but  I 
want  no  election  that  will  be  a  mockery  and  a 
farce.  But,  then,  the  form  in  which  this  report 
is  put  is  objectionable — that  the  people  are  ca- 
pable of  electing  a  Legislature,  but  that  they 
are  not  fit  to  elect  a  Governor.  Why,  it  is  a 
curious  argument  to  say  that  the  people  shall 
declare  who  shall  make  their  laws,  but  shall 
not  say  who  shall  execute  them.  I  want  to 
keep  in  the  Governor  and  the  Secretary  of 
State  as  long  as  we  can.  I  am  for  keeping  the 
Provisional  Government  in  power.  It  is  gain- 
ing strength  and  confidence  every  day,  and  the 
people  are  willing  to  remain  under  it 

Mr.  WELCH.  If  the  gentleman  will  give 
way,  I  will  move  to  adjourn. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  to  2  p.  M. 


AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

Mr.  McCLURG  presented  a  petition  from 
citizens  of  Callaway  county,  praying  the  pas- 
sage of  an  ordinance  to  prevent  disloyal  men 
from  voting.  Referred  to  Committee  on  Elec- 
tions. 

Mr.  HUDGENS  moved  that  a  committee  be 
appointed  to  investigate  the  charges  preferred 
against  him  in  the  petition  of  certain  citizens 
of  the  district  represented  by  him  in  the  Con- 
vention. Adopted  ;  and  the  President  appoint- 
ed the  following  gentlemen  said  committee  : 

Messrs.  Irwin,  Hendrick,  Moss,  McDowell, 
and  Shanklin. 

QUALIFICATIONS    OF    VOTERS. 

The  Chair  announced  the  question  before 
the  Convention  was  on  the  adoption  of  the 
amendment  of  Mr.  Orr  to  the  ordinance  re- 
ported by  the  Committee  on  Elections  and 
Elective  Franchises. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  As  the  Chairman  of  this 
Committee  has  said  the  test  question  will  come 
up  on  the  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from 
Greene  to  strike  out  that  portion  of  the  first 
section  which  restricts  voters — the  effect  of 
which  will  be  to  impose  no  qualifications  upon 
those  who  have  been  in  arms  against  the  Gov- 
ernment— I  desire  to  make  a  few  remarks  upon 
that  proposition.  Say  what  you  please  about 
it,  the  effect  of  the  original  proposition  as  it 
now  stands,  if  adopted  will  be  merely  to  dis- 


qualify those  who  would,  if  brought  before  a 
court  of  justice,  be  convicted  of  treason.  The 
latter  part  of  the  proposition  I  would  be  willing 
to  strike  out,  so  as  to  make  it  apply  only  to 
those  who  have  taken  up  arms,  or  levied  war, 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 
But  if  we  strike  out  that  portion  of  the  section 
as  proposed  by  the  gentleman  from  Green,  the 
effect  will  be  to  allow  all  the  men  engaged  in 
rebellion  to  exercise  the  elective  franchise. 
Now,  the  measure  as  presented  simply  proposes 
to  fix  the  qualifications  of  voters.  The  people 
of  the  State,  represented  in  this  Convention, 
have  the  right  at  any  time  to  change  their 
naturalization  laws,  and  to  change  the  qualifi- 
cations of  voters.  They  have  the  right  to  say 
that,  instead  of  two  years  or  twelve  months' 
residence  here,  a  naturalized  citizen  shall  reside 
here  twelve  years  or  fifteen  years  before  he 
shall  be  entitled  to  vote.  The  Convention  has 
the  power  to  make  this  change,  and  to  change 
the  present  qualifications  of  voters.  This  is 
all,  I  take  it,  that  this  ordinance  proposes  to  do 
— simply  to  fix  the  qualifications  of  voters.  It 
applies  to  a  class  of  men  who  have  thrown  off 
their  allegiance  to  the  Government,  who  have 
tajcen  up  arms  with  the  determination  of  over- 
turning its  institutions,  and  who  have  no  respect 
for  the  Provisional  Government  of  Missouri,  or 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  because 
they  set  out  to  overturn  and  destroy  the  one, 
and  since  the  establishment  of  the  other  they 
have  shown  no  respect  for  it.  Many  of  these 
men  have  returned ;  a  portion  have  become 
tired  and  sick  of  the  movement  j  and  the  gen- 
tlemen who  have  argued  against  this  proposi- 
tion, as  expressed  in  the  first  section,  seem 
disposed  to  treat  it  as  a  small  matter  j  they 
seem  disposed  to  say:  "Although  you  have 
taken  up  arms  and  initiated  the  most  infamous 
rebellion  which  the  pages  of  history  have  re- 
corded ;  although  you  have  sought  to  tear  down 
a  Government  which  never  harmed  you ; 
although  you  have  desolated  a  smiling  land 
with  civil  war  ;  yet,  as  soon  as  you  become 
tired  of  its  operations  and  find  you  cannot 
succeed,  if  you  come  back  we  will  receive  you 
with  open  arms,  and  you  shall  be  entitled  to 
all  the  rights  which  we  have  maintained,  but 
which  you,  by  the  red  hand  of  revolution,  have 
endeavored  to  take  away  from  us."  Sir, 
strange  reasons  have  been  offered  why  we 
should  not  adopt  the  proposition  as  reported  to 
this  Convention.  The  gentleman  from  Greene 
tells  us  that  it  will  create  disturbances  among 
the  people.  The  gentleman  from  Clay  (Mr. 


57 


Moss)  tells  us  they  are  sensitive  upon  the  sub- 
ject. He  is  afraid  to  disturb  the  sensitive  nerves 
of  gentlemen  who  have  been  in  rebellion ;  he 
is  afraid  they  won't  like  it.  Another  reason 
offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Greene  is,  that, 
if  we  adopt  it,  the  State  of  Missouri  will  be 
deprived  of  his  valuable  services  as  Register 
of  Lands,  for  he  has  determined  not  to  hold  the 
office  after  its  adoption.  Well,  now,  if  the 
people  of  the  State  can  stand  that,  and  I  think 
they  can — if  they  can  find  a  man  within  the 
limits  of  this  broad  State  that  can  certify  lands 
and  keep  a  record  of  the  delinquent  tax  list — 
if  they  can  find  any  other  man  to  do  that  busi- 
ness as  well  as  ihe  gentleman  from  Greene, 
then,  I  take  it,  there  is  no  reason  in  that  argu- 
ment why  we  should  not  adopt  the  proposition, 
otherwise  we  should  not  adopt  it.  But  I  rise 
particularly  to  reply  to  some  of  the  remarks  of 
the  gentleman  from  Clay.  He  tells  us — and 
that  seems  to  be  the  key  to  his  whole  position, 
otherwise  1  could  not  understand  it — that  there 
is  a  cloud  rising  in  the  east,  a  dark  cloud,  from 
whose  lurid  bosom  the  lightnings  are  beginning 
to  flash.  He  tells  us  there  is  a  party  in  Mis- 
souri allied  to  this  terrible  party  of  which  he 
speaks  of  at  Washington,  which  I  suppose  he 
alluded  to  in  his  figure  of  the  cloud  and  the 
lightnings  beginning  to  flash.  He  speaks  of 
the  leaders  who  are  more  to  be  dreaded  than 
the  secessionists  in  the  South,  and  says  that 
when  the  vote  is  taken,  he  wants  to  give  the 
people  the  right  to  choose  between  the  ultras 
and  the  conservative  men.  Why,  sir,  the  loyal 
voters  have  that  right  now.  Of  course,  then, 
he  means  to  say  the  disloyal  voters — the  seces- 
sionists, ia  other  words.  He  wants  to  bring 
them  from  Price's  army  into  Missouri  for  the 
purpose  of  voting  down  these  men.  There  may 
be  such  ultras ;  I  have  no  doubt  of  it,  but  I 
want  the  gentleman  to  understand  that  1  do  not 
sympathize  with  their  movements.  They  would 
vote  as  soon  for  the  gentleman  from  Clay  as 
for  me.  I  have  not  acted  with  them  and  I  do 
not  expect  to.  J  speak  now  of  the  ultras;  I 
speak  of  those  who  are  in  favor — because  the 
gen'leman's  allusion  cannot  be  misunderstood 
— of  immediate  emancipation  in  the  State. 
But,  sir,  if  he  means  to  say  that  we  are  to 
invite  the  secessionists  of  Price's  army  back  to 
the  State  of  Missouri  for  the  purpose  of  voting 
down  these  men  whose  loyalty  has  never  been 
questioned,  it  may  be  the  friends  at  Washington 
of  these  men  of  whom  he  speaks — and  who, 
now  let  me  tell  the  gentleman,  control  the 
Government  of  this  country — will  see  to  it  that 


their  friends  in  Missouri  are  not  trampled  in 
the  dust ;  and  they  will  see  to  it  that  you  do  not 
invite  the  traitors  of  the  South  to  vote  down 
those  with  whom  they  have  acted  and  with 
whom  they  sympathize.  Sir,  they  have  the 
power. 

Mr.  President,  it  seems  in  bad  taste  for  a 
member  of  this  Convention,  who  is  true  to  the 
Union,  to  be  undertaking  to  traduce  the  char- 
acter of  these  men,  without  whose  aid  he  could 
not  have  remained  in  Missouri,  nor  you  nor  I. 
Who  gives  power,  life  and  vigor  to  the  Pro- 
visional Government  of  Missouri,  if  it  is  not 
the  Administration  at  Washington?  How 
would  the  10,000  troops  that  now  protect  the 
firesides  of  the  people  of  this  State  be  main- 
tained, if  it  was  not  for  the  money  appropriated 
from  the  National  Treasury  by  the  votes  of 
these  very  men?  Sir,  the  Governor,  in  his 
message,  is  magnanimous  enough  to  admit 
that  it  was  by  the  assistance  of  these  men  that 
he  has  been  able  to  maintain  the  Government 
of  the  State  of  Missouri.  And  now,  permission 
has  been  given  by  the  Government  at  Wash- 
ington to  let  us  have  our  own  citizens  for  our 
own  protection,  while  the  troops  of  the  north- 
western States — the  friends  of  those  whom  the 
gentleman  so  bitterly  denounces — leave  their 
homes  and  firesides,  and  go  into  the  swamps 
of  the  south  to  protect  the  institutions  under 
which  we  have  flourished  as  a  nation  ;  and  yet, 
these  men  are  to  be  vilified,  and  we  are  to  have 
the  mendicants  and  traitors  from  Price's  army 
invited  here  for  the  purpose  of  putting  down 
the  rights  of  the  friends  of  these  brave  soldiers 
at  the  ballot-box.  Sir,  I  tell  the  gentleman  it 
won't  do,  and  he  will  find,  too  late,  perhaps, 
that  it  will  not  do.  It  is  done  for  what  pur- 
pose ?  For  the  purpose  of  propping  up  slavery 
in  Missouri,  an  institution  which  secession  has 
killed  out,  and  which  is  now  tottering  on  its 
last  legs.  But  the  gentleman  from  Clay  comes 
forward  to  defend  it,  by  saying  he  wants  the 
traitors  in  Price's  army  to  come  here  and  help 
put  down  ultra  men.  I  tell  the  gentleman 
that,  by  this  conduct,  he  is  nursing  a  flame 
which  he  will  not  be  able  to  extinguish.  Sir, 
the  institutions  of  Missouri,  to-day,  owe  every- 
thing they  have  to  the  General  Government  ; 
without  its  aid  and  assistance,  the  Government 
of  this  State  could  accomplish  nothing.  And 
I  tell  you  that  as  soon  as  you  let  these  men 
know  that  you  are  determined  to  put  down 
their  friends  by  such  means  as  these,  they  will 
see  to  it,  and  very  soon,  that  the  institution  is 
crushed  in  Missouri.  All  they  have  to  do  is  to 


58 


take  the  10,000  troops  you  have  here  in  Mis- 
souri and  institute  a  Military  Government,  and 
take  the  matter  into  their  own  hands,  and  then 
where  will  your  institution  be.  Take  up  arms, 
if  you  choose,  against  the  Federal  Government 
— they  have  forces  in  the  field  to  meet  you,  and 
if  you  propose  to  provoke  that  issue,  they  will 
say,  "  Let  it  come."  They  are  held  back  now, 
and  now  only,  by  the  conservative  men  we 
have  in  Congress ;  and  I  am  glad,  when  I  say 
that,  to  speak  particularly  of  the  Senators  and 
Representatives  from  the  State  of  Missouri. 
Sir,  I  do  not  justify  these  ultras,  but  we  must 
act  according  to  the  circumstances  that  sur- 
round us.  I  am  not  here  to  advocate  their 
method,  or  to  advocate  the  outrages  committed 
on  our  borders  by  men  who  have  worn  the 
uniform  of  the  Federal  soldiery,  and  who  have 
disgraced  their  uniform  ;  but  sir,  it  won't  do 
for  the  gentleman  from  Clay  to  tell  us  th.tt  we 
are  to  invite  these  men  into  the  State  for  the 
purpose  of  propping  up  an  institution  that  is  on 
its  last  legs,  and  for  the  purpose  of  propping 
up  their  friends — their  sympathizers. 

I  was  in  hopes,  truly  in  hopes,  that  we  could 
have  voted  upon  this  proposition  without 
bringing  in  any  of  these  extraneous  issues — • 
that  we  could  have  voted  on  its  merits — that 
we  could  have  asked  whether  these  men,  who 
have  taken  up  arms,  these  men  who  have 
disturbed  the  peace  of  the  Union,  and  the 
lives  and  property  of  our  citizens,  ought  now 
to  be  entitled  to  the  elective  franchise.  I  hoped 
this,  and  that  Union  men  would  not  hesitate  a 
moment  in  declaring  that  such  men  ought  not 
to  be  permitted  to  vote.  They  do  not  expect  it 
themselves  ;  and  when  we  refuse  to  adopt  such 
a  measure,  they  will  only  laugh,  and  think  that 
we  are  afraid  to  pass  such  an  ordinance.  Sir, 
I  am  not  afraid  to  do  it,  and  I  am  not  afraid  to 
vote  for  it. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  am,  sir,  surprised  at  the  remarks 
made  by  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis.  I  do 
not  think  he  does  me  justice.  He  represents 
me  as  dealing  in  wholesale  abuse  of  the  Gov- 
ernment at  Washington  City.  Nothing,  sir, 
ould  have  been  further  from  my  purpose  than 
to  have  entered  into  wholesale  abuse  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  The  gentleman  himself,  per- 
haps,  thought  he  might  come  in  for  a  share  of 
my  condemnation.  Far  from  it.  I  respect 
and  honor  the  conservative  portion  of  the 
Republican  party  in  our  National  Legislature — 
Browning  of  Illinois,  Thomas  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  other  noble  patriots  that  belong  to 
that  party.  They  have  come  out  and  shown 


themselves  patriots  on  a  large  scale.  I  make 
no  warfare  on  such  men.  The  salvation  of  the 
country  is  in  their  hands.  We  must  look  to 
them  for  aid,  and  I  honor  and  reverence  them. 
But  the  gentleman  says  he  is  not  an  ultra.  If 
not,  then  he  does  not  come  in  for  any  portion 
of  my  remarks.  I  am  willing  to  work  side  by 
side  with  him,  if  he  is  conservative,  no  matter 
what  he  calls  himself.  But,  he  says,  we  have 
got  to  beware  of  these  ultra  men,  who  have  us 
in  their  power.  Mr.  President,  if  they  have  us 
in  their  power  we  are  gone.  I  hope  they  have 
not.  I  hope  that  the  efforts  of  such  gentlemen 
as  Mr.  Broadhead,  in  connection  with  the  other 
conservative  Republicans  of  Missouri  and  the 
United  States,  will  come  to  the  rescue  and  save 
us  from  the  fate  that  awaits  us  if  we  are  left 
in  the  hands  of  these  radicals.  If  we  are  in 
their  hands,  I  have  no  hope. 

The  gentleman  says  that  we  are  now  only 
permitted  to  live  in  security  under  our  institu- 
tions, because  these  gentlemen  are  disposed  to 
be  indulgent  towards  us.  I  would  like  the  gen- 
tleman to  point  me  to  a  vote,  in  our  National 
Legislature,  by  a  radical,  that  has  not  been  for 
our  destruction.  I  would  like  to  have  him 
show  me  a  radical  standing  side  by  side  with 
Thomas  and  Browning,  Sir,  I  tell  you  I  have 
no  favors  to  ask  from  the  radicals.  I  tell  you 
the  enemies  of  this  Government,  no  matter 
whether  North  or  South,  are  dangerous  to  ev- 
ery thing  like  constitutional  liberty,  and  our 
only  hope  of  securing  constitutional  liberty  is 
by  the  aid  of  the  conservative  men,  North  and 
South.  Sir,  I  do  not  abuse  anybody.  But  I 
speak  my  sentiments  candidly  when  I  say  that 
I  believe  these  men  are  as  hostile  to  this  Gov- 
ernment as  Jeff.  Davis  and  his  followers  at  the 
South.  They  make  the  same  landing  exactly. 
They  fight  under  a  different  name,  but  the  end 
of  their  efforts  is  the  same — destruction  to  the 
Government  and  a  separation.  Why,  sir,  we 
see  one  of  their  leading  men — Phillips — says 
he  has  been  working  nineteen  years  to  get 
nineteen  States  out  of  the  Union.  Why,  is 
there  any  worse  treason  than  that  in  the  heart 
of  Jeff.  Davis,  or  enunciated  at  the  firesides  of 
the  South  ?  My  friend's  appeals  are  in  vain,  if 
he  expectg  any  favor  from  these  men.  The 
gentleman  says  he  does  not  belong  to  that  par- 
ty. I  do  not  believe  that  he  does.  I  believe 
he  would  stand  by  the  conservative  men  of  his 
own  party. 

The  gentleman  says  I  am  proposing  to  turn 
loose  here  the  soldiers  of  Price's  army.  No 
part  of  my  remarks  can  be  tortured  into  such 


59 


a  meaning.  I  told  the  gentleman  from  Pike 
that  the  ninth  section  gave  relief  to  nobody. 
The  gentleman  from  Pike  argued  that  he  in- 
tended to  vote  for  the  ninth  section.  I  do  not 
recollect  whether  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis 
agreed  with  him  or  not. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.     I  differ  with  him. 

Mr.  Moss.  The  gentleman  from  St.  Louis, 
then,  is  not  for  the  ninth  section  unadulterated. 
Now,  I  take  it  for  granted  that  the  ninth  section 
does  not  suit  him.  I  am  not  particularly  anx- 
ious about  those  men  in  Price's  army ;  but  I 
want  the  men  at  home — the  men  who  have 
sons  in  that  army — to  be  protected  in  their 
rights.  I  will  state  a  fact  in  this  connection. 
The  Union  men  of  my  county  are  aged  men — 
from  forty-five  to  sixty  years.  They  are  the 
staunchest  sort  of  Union  men  ;  but  out  of  two 
thousand  two  hundred  voters  there  are  scarcely 
two  hundred  men  but  have  sons  in  Price's  ar- 
my. Why,  you  cannot  sear  the  hearts  of  these 
men.  They  must  sympathize  with  the  rebels, 
although  they  do  not  sympathize  with  treason  ; 
but  I  find  every  man  who  sympathizes  with  the 
rebels  is  unsound.  God,  the  Father  of  the  uni- 
verse, never  had  any  sympathy  with  sin,  but 
He  had  sympathy  for  the  sinner,  and  gave  His 
Son  to  the  cross  that  He  might  open  the  way  to 
take  His  people  to  His  arms.  Do  you  expect 
to  be  superior  to  God  Almighty  ?  I  tell  you 
the  man  who  has  lost  all  sympathy  for  erring 
man  is  an  ultra  of  the  worst  sort — worse  than 
the  vilest  secessionist  that  ever  lived,  or  plotted 
treason  against  his  Government.  No,  sir,  I  op- 
pose this  first  section,  and  I  am  in  favor  of  the 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Green  ;  and 
I  oppose  it,  not  because  it  cuts  out  the  men  in 
Price's  army,  but  because  it  cuts  out  my  neigh- 
bors at  home,  who  have  sympathy  for  their 
sons  who  are  in  that  army.  They  were  Union 
men  at  the  start,  and  if  the  Government  had 
been  composed  of  such  men  as  I  represent,  it 
never  would  have  been  broken  up  at  all.  Sir, 
I  am  bound  to  stand  by  and  defend  the  right 
of  such  men  to  go  to  the  ballot-box,  and  have  a 
voice  in  saying  who  shall  make  and  administer 
our  laws. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  The  gentleman  misun- 
derstood me,  if  he  supposes  I  intended  to  ap- 
ply this  section  to  those  who  sympathize  with 
the  rebels.  It  is  enough  to  apply  it  to  those 
who  have  taken  up  arms  against  the  Govern- 
ment. So  far  from  not  having  sympathy  with 
them,  I  have  as  kind  sympathy  for  them — 
whether  they  have  erred  designedly  or  not — as 
any  man  in  this  State.  I  have  just  as  near 


and  dear  relatives  in  the  Southern  army  as  any 
other  man  in  Missouri.  I  love  them  none  the 
ess  because  they  have  rebelled  against  the 
jovernment,  but  I  am  not  willing  to  put  them 
in  the  highest  seats  of  the  synagogue,  and 
give  them  an  opportunity  to  control  our  affairs, 
when  they  have  shown  a  disposition  to  destroy 
and  overturn  the  Goverment. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  We  are  here  to  de- 
vise expedients  to  carry  on  the  Government 
until  such  time  as  we  can  transfer  it  to  its  ori- 
ginal channel.  We  are  not  here  to  devise  a 
punishment  for  treason  in  revolutionary  times. 
We  are  merely  devising  measures  to  carry  on 
the  Government  until  the  excitement  under 
which  the  country  labors  shall  have  passed 
away.  I  repeat,  we  are  here  devising  expedi- 
ents for  carrying  on  the  Government,  and  that 
we  have  been  doing.  So  far  as  any  question 
that  has  been  discussed  here  is  concerned,  there 
is  no  difference  in  principle  between  us.  There 
is  no  difference  in  principle,  as  I  understand  it, 
between  the  gentlemen  from  Green,  from  Clay, 
and  from  St.  Louis.  They  are  all  for  imposing 
restrictions.  They  all  distrust  the  people.  Not 
one  of  them  is  willing  to  trust  the  people  of 
the  State  with  the  power  of  self-government  at 
this  time.  The  only  question  between  them  is 
how  far  it  is  safe  to  trust  them.  Not  one  of 
the  gentlemen  is  willing  to  allow  them  the  exer- 
cise of  their  rights  as  they  existed  before  this 
rebellion.  They  all  agree  that  we  must  adopt 
such  expedients  as  are  necessary  to  secure  law 
and  order.  They  not  only  agree  that  it  is  right 
to  impose  these  restrictions,  but  that  they  must 
go  to  that  point  necessary  to  secure  a  loyal 
government  in  Missouri.  Well,  now,  what  is 
all  the  rest  ?  It  is  a  mere  difference  of  opinion, 
based  on  the  condition  of  affairs  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  It  may  be,  and  I  have 
suspected  that  it  is  so,  that  in  some  neighbor- 
hoods there  is  a  state  of  feeling  that  would  au- 
thorize one  restriction,  and  in  other  neighbor- 
hoods a  state  of  feeling  that  would  require  an- 
other restriction — that  what  is  safe  for  one  sec- 
tion will  not  be  safe  for  another.  Well,  if  there 
is  a  different  state  of  things  in  different  parts 
of  the  State,  what  is  our  true  course  ?  Why, 
it  is  to  adopt  that  system  which  will  be  safe 
everywhere.  We  cannot  adopt  any  other,  in 
justice  to  the  principles  we  have  already  advo* 
cated.  We  must  adopt  the  system  that  willse- 
cure  safety,  for  that  is  the  purpose  we  have 
had  in  view,  so  far  as  our  action  is  concerned, 
from  the  beginning.  Gentlemen  cannot  be  seri- 
ous in  contending  we  should  not  restrict  these 


60 


men  in  their  suffrage,  when  we  have  raised  mo- 
ney to  go  and  shoot  them  down,  and  recognized 
the  right  to  seize  these  men  and  subject  them 
to  the  annoyances  that  rebels  have  been  sub- 
jected by  the  Union  party  in  power  in  this 
State. 

Again  :  Gentlemen  talk  of  this  as  a  punish- 
ment. I  say  it  is  no  punishment.  Here  we 
have  a  class  of  citizens  in  this  State  that  say 
they  owe  no  allegiance  to  this  Government, 
and  they  have  proved  the  sincerity  of  their  as- 
sertions by  taking  up  arms  and  showing  their 
hostility  to  this  Government,  and  their  allegi- 
ance to  a  Government  that  is  at  war  with  ours. 
I  repeat,  they  have  proved  the  sincerity  of  their 
assertions  that  they  owe  no  allegiance  to  this 
Government;  and  now,  shall  we  give  to  the 
men  who  have  made  this  declaration  the  power 
of  controlling  the  Government?  Such  an  ab- 
surdity never  was  sustained  by  any  man  in  his 
senses.  That  individuals  who  are  hostile  to 
the  Government  should  have  control  of  it — 
should  be  given  a  more  effectual  means  of  sub- 
verting it — should  be  allowed,  first,  to  take  up 
arms  and  fight  against  it,  and  then  should  be 
placed  securely  in  a  position  where  they  can 
exercise  their  hostility  more  effectually  ;  why, 
sir,  I  say  it  is  an  absurdity.  This  is  no  pun- 
ishment, sir.  It  is  merely  taking  these  men  at 
their  words.  It  is  taking  from  them  the  pow- 
er of  doing  what  they  said  they  would  do,  and 
what  they  have  ventured  their  lives  to  do.  It 
is  v;ithholding  from  them  the  means  of  doing 
what  they  have  spent  the  last  year,  and  nearly 
ruined  the  State  in  attempting  to  do,  I  want 
these  men  to  come  back.  I  do  not  want  to  re- 
strict them,  or  deprive  them  of  the  right  of  cit- 
izenship. I  should  feel  glad  if  I  could,  in  jus- 
tice, give  them  the  right  to  vote  now.  But  I  have 
been  acting  upon  the  principle,  and  shall  con- 
tinue to  act  upon  it  while  a  member  of  this 
body,  that  I  will  be  faithful  to  the  trust  confi- 
ded to  me,  and  to  the  oath  I  have  taken,  that 
whenever  I  see  an  act  necessary  for  securing 
the  peace  and  loyalty  of  the  State,  I  will  do  it, 
be  the  consequences  what  they  may  to  me  indi- 
vidually. 1  hold  that,  when  I  took  the  trust  of 
becoming  a  member  of  this  body,  I  took  the 
consequences  incident  to  that  trust,  and  I  will 
discharge  that  responsibility.  I  may  regret  I 
am  compelled  to  do  it.  I  do  regret  it.  I  regret 
the  necessity  that  has  come  upon  us  ;  bnt  I  ask 
every  gentlemen  in  this  body  if  he  does  not  feel 
that  he  is  bound  to  do  what  is  necessary  to  give 
security  to  our  State,  and  if  anyone  measure  is 
more  effectual  for  that  purpose  than  another,  and 


does  not  go  beyond  the  clear  necessity  of  the 
case,  it  is  clearly,  in  my  opinion,  our  duty  to 
adopt  it.  Now,  sir,  with  regard  to  these  re- 
strictions of  voters,  that  first  section  is  imma- 
terial, it  seems  to  me,  and  I  do  not  care  wheth- 
er the  whole  of  it  is  stricken  out. 

Gentlemen  have  suggested  three  propositions. 
One  of  them  is  a  restriction  affecting  all  citi- 
zens, as  reported  by  the  committee;  another  is 
to  confine  the  restrictions  exclusively  to  the 
candidates,  as  suggested  by  the  gentleman  from 
Green ;  and  the  other  is  the  recommendation 
reported  by  the  gentleman  from  Monroe,  (Mr. 
Howell,)  which  is  to  put  off  all  elections  and 
keep  the  Government  in  its  present  hands. 
Now,  undoubtedly,  the  measure  reported  by  the 
gentleman  from  Monroe  is  the  most  extreme. 
It  says  the  people  of  the  State  cannot  be  trust- 
ed at  all  with  the  privilege  of  self-government 
at  this  time,  with  safety.  If  the  proposition 
were  true,  I  would  acquiesce  in  it.  And  if 
this  Convention  does  not  throw  around  the  vo- 
ter such  restrictions  as  I  think  right,  I  shall  be 
driven  to  the  support  of  that  proposition.  I 
have  been  away  several  months,  and  I  am  not 
so  well  informed  as  other  members,  but  I  un- 
derstand the  state  of  things  in  Missouri  is  such 
that  we  can  keep  up  the  forms  of  government 
at  least.  If  we  cannot,  let  us  abandon  the  ef- 
fort, and  leave  the  power  where  it  is  until  there 
is  sufficient  security  for  that  purpose.  I  shall 
act,  as  at  present  advised,  upon  the  impression 
that  it  is  not  necessary  to  resort  to  a  measure 
so  extreme  as  that  recommended  by  the  gentle- 
man from  Monroe.  I  think  the  people  can  ex- 
ercise the  right  of  suffrage  so  that  it  may  be 
more  safely  entrusted  to  their  hands  than  ours. 
We  propose  a  test ;  but  it  seems  to  me  no  test 
can  be  imagined  which  is  so  palpably  right  and 
proper  as  to  exclude  those  men  who  have  taken 
arms  in  their  hands,  and  after  our  repeated  in- 
ducements for  them  to  return,  have  still  persisted 
in  this  rebellion.  They  cannot  be  safely  trusted 
with  power  at  this  time. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  As  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Elections  and  Elective  Franchise,  I 
desire  to  submit  a  few  remarks  upon  the  ques- 
tion now  before  the  Convention,  and,  as  gentle- 
men do  not  appear  to  have  confined  themselves 
very  closely  tothe  special  issue  before  us,  I  shall 
attempt  to  make  my  remarks  on  the  present 
occasion  as  practical  as  I  am  capable  of  making 
them.  I  occupied,  Mr.  President,  in  my  elec- 
tion to  this  Convention,  an  independent  posi- 
tion. I  issued  no  handbills,  but  went  before 
the  people  of  my  district  and  spoke  to  them 


61 


my  mind  upon  the  questions  which  I  appre- 
hended would  come  before  this  body,  freely 
and  in  order  that  I  might  be  understood,  and 
that  I  might  understand  the  people  whom  I 
aspired  to  represent.  My  position  before  this 
body,  if  I  know  myself,  has  been  independent. 
I  have  not  tied  myself  to  either  of  the  radical 
wings,  if  there  be  such,  of  this  Convention,  but 
I  have  sometimes  voted  with  the  one  and  some- 
times with  the  other,  as  I  thought  best  for  the 
preservation  of  the  interests  of  my  country 
and  the  State  in  the  awful  emergency  in  which 
it  found  itself.  I  told  my  people,  when  I  was 
a  candidate  before  them,  that  secession  was  a 
remedy  for  no  evil — that  no  man  had  the  saga- 
city to  see  what  would  result  from  it ;  and  I 
told  them  further,  that  an  ordinance  of  seces- 
sion in  Missouri  would  not  result  in  the  pro- 
tection of  slavery,  but,  on  the  contrary,  would 
result  in  the  utter  ruin  and  desolation  of  the 
State ;  and,  in  reference  to  the  correctness  of 
that  position,  my  mind  has  never  undergone  a 
change.  Heretofore  I  have  to  a  considerable 
extent,  perhaps,  been  recorded  as  occupying  a 
negative  position  in  this  Convention.  I  have 
done  so  because  I  have  looked  upon  the  con- 
test sweeping  through  Missouri  as  one  of 
military  power,  as  one  of  force,  and  not  of  le- 
gislation. My  position  in  this  respect  now,  and 
that  occupied  by  me  heretofore,  is  well  known 
and  appreciated  by  my  constituents.  If  an  in- 
dustrious and  persistent  effort  among  the  peo- 
ple I  have  mixed  with,  to  convince  them  of  the 
folly  of  the  course  that  has  been  inaugurated 
by  the  radical  and  secession  portion  of  this  State, 
and  of  the  terrible  results  that  would  follow 
that  course  and  be  visited  upon  the  State  of 
Missouri,  is  any  evidence,  sir,  of  my  loyalty 
as  a  citizen  of  the  State  of  Missouri  and  of  the 
United  States,  then,  sir,  that  evidence  exists 
in  abundance ;  and  if,  on  the  other  hand,  sir, 
abuse  and  misrepresentation  of  my  course,  by 
the  extreme  and  radical  men  of  my  district,  is 
any  evidence  of  the  position  I  have  assumed 
here,  that  evidence  also  exists  in  abundance. 
But  this  by  the  way.  I  desire  to  legislate 
to-day  for  the  present  condition  of  Missouri, 
and  I  desire  to  legislate  in  a  practical,  straight- 
forward, and  common-sense  manner,  in  refer- 
ence to  its  peculiar  status  and  condition,  with- 
out subserving  any  peculiar  theories  or  any 
peculiar  class  of  politicians,  aspirants,  or  inter- 
ests in  the  State.  I  take  it  then,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, that  the  political  status  of  Missouri  is  to- 
day a  fixed  fact;  and  that  it  is  settled  beyond  a 
doubt,  I  suppose  no  man  can  fail  to  admit  who 


has  watched  with  any  care  the  progress  of 
events.  I  say,  then,  that  the  political  status 
and  military  status  of  Missouri,  to-day,  is  a 
fixed  fact.  We  are  called  upon  then  as  a  body, 
the  only  deliberative  body  representing  the 
sovereignty  of  the  poople  of  Missouri,  to  legis- 
late on  the  condition  of  Missouri  within  the 
Union,  and  for  our  best  interests.  I  say  then, 
sir,  that  the  status  of  Missouri  is  within  the 
Union.  This  rebellion,  as  far  as  there  was 
any  dignity  attached  to  it,  has  been  crushed 
out  of  the  State;  but  yet,  sir,  Missouri  is  not 
in  a  wealthy  condition  to-day.  Missouri  is  not 
as  Missouri  was.  Missouri  is  yet  a  sick  pa- 
tient and  we  are  her  physicians,  sir,  on  the 
present  occasion  to  prescribe  for  the  present 
condition  of  our  State.  There  are  two  reme- 
dies presented.  One  is  presented  by  the  ma. 
jority  of  the  Committee  and  the  other  by  the 
minority  of  the  Committee  on  Elections  and 
Elective  Franchise.  I  presented  the  minority 
report,  with  some  promise  from  one  of  the 
other  members  of  the  Committee  that  he  would 
probably — although  he  did  not  sign  it  at  the 
time — finally  support  it  in  this  body.  One  of 
these  reports  is  to  hold  the  elections  at  the 
times  now  prescribed  by  the  Constitution — an 
election  for  members  of  the  Legislature,  and 
for  ministerial  and  judicial  officers,  but  defer- 
ring or  proposing  to  continue  the  executive 
arm  of  the  Government  for  the  period  for 
which  the  executive  chosen  was  elected. 

The  minority  report  proposes  to  continue 
all  the  elections  as  prescribed  by  the  election 
laws  for  the  next  two  years.  Now,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, I  reported  the  minority  report,  and  I 
appear  here  on  the  present  occasion  to  urge 
some  reasons  in  favor  of  that  minority  report, 
and  in  opposition  to  the  election  as  proposed 
to  be  brought  on  by  the  majority  report.  It 
is  proposed  by  the  majority  to  hold  an  election 
at  the  time  now  fixed  by  the  Constitution  and 
the  election  laws  of  the  State.  Now,  Mr.  Pres- 
ident, what  does  an  election  mean  ?  I  suppose 
that  it  means  that  the  people,  who  are  interest- 
in  the  laws  that  are  to  be  enacted  and  executed, 
are  to  have  the  free  will  of  going  to  the  polls 
and  there  making  selections  of  those  who  are 
to  make  or  enact  their  laws,  and  those  who  are 
to  execute  those  laws.  That,  sir,  is  the  way 
Americans,  Republicans  and  Democratic 
Americans  have  always  understood  this  thing. 
That  is  the  way  our  people  have  always  been 
accustomed  to  regard  this  thing,  and  that  is 
the  old  time  franchise  that  the  people  have 
grown  up  with  and  under.  It  is  not  contended 


62 


by  any  gentleman  in  this  house,  I  suppose,  that 
in  the  present  condition  of  Missouri  this  sys- 
tem can  be  carried  out.  No  gentleman  pro- 
poses it.  No  gentleman  on  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  or  in  the  house  on  the  present  occa- 
sion, believes  that  that  policy  of  an  election  in 
that  way  is  practicable  in  the  present  condition 
of  the  State.  Then,  sir,  these  are  very  revo- 
lutionary times,  and  exceptional  in  our  history, 
and  our  legislation  must  be  exceptional.  We 
must  adapt  ourselves  to  the  circumstances  that 
are  upon  us  and  that  surround  us.  The  ques- 
tion is  not  whether  Missouri  is  to  go  out  of 
the  Union  or  to  be  retained ;  that  is  a  fixed 
fact.  The  question  is  not  whether  the  rebel- 
lion is  to  be  crushed  in  Missouri ;  for  that  is  a 
fixed  fact.  But  the  question  is,  what  is  the  most 
prudent  course  to  be  adopted  by  us  in  order  to 
bring  ourselves  back  to  the  desirable  condition 
of  things  that  existed  before  this  rebellion? 
Is  it,  sir,  to  permit  a  portion  of  our  inhabitants 
to  go  to  the  polls  and  fill  the  Legislature  of  the 
State,  and  other  offices,  to  the  exclusion  of, 
perhaps,  two-thirds  of  their  fellow-citizens, 
who  have  always  lived  here  and  enjoyed  all 
the  privileges  and  rights  belonging  to  an  Amer- 
ican citizen.  I  say,  sir,  that  such  an  invidious 
distinction  as  the  one  here  proposed,  will  at 
once  ru;n  this  whole  community ;  it  will  fill 
the  woodlands,  the  brush,  and  the  ravines,  with 
desperate  men,  who  will  say,  that,  being  dis- 
franchised, we  are  not  required  to  bear  our  pro- 
portion of  the  burdens  of  this  country — we  are 
entitled  to  no  benefits;  and  they  will  say,  we 
have  nothing  here  to  live  for.  Here  is  slavery 
in  its  most  abject  and  degraded  form. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  wish  to  ask  the  gentle- 
man a  question.  He  says  two-thirds  of  the 
citizens  of  this  State  will  be  excluded  by  this 
proposition.  I  ask  him  if  he  has  any  idea  that 
two-thirds  of  the  citizens  of  this  State  have 
been  engaged  in  levying  war  during  the  rebel- 
lion. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  do  not  intend  to  be  mathe- 
matically correct.  I  suppose  a  large  majority 
of  the  people  of  Missouri  have  embarked  in 
this  rebellion,  or  there  would  be  no  urgent 
reason  for  this  disfranchisement.  I  take  it, 
sir,  the  very  argument  in  favor  of  this  disfran- 
chisement  is,  that  more  than  a  majority  of  the 

people  of  this  State  have  been  engaged 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  do  not  believe  one-fourth 
or  one-eighth  of  the  people  of  the  State  have 
been  engaged  in  levying  war.  A  majority  of 
individuals  may  have  sympathized,  but  I  do 
not  believe  even  one-twentieth  part  of  the 


people  will  fall  under  the  provisions  of  this 
ordinance. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  The  gentleman  has  been 
absent  and  does  not  know  the  feelings  of  the 
people  in  the  country  as  well  as  gentlemen  who 
have  lived  in  the  country  all  the  time,  and  gone 
through  the  fiery  ordeal. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  am  a  neighbor  of  yours, 
and  ought  to  know  something  about  the  senti- 
ments of  the  people. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  Yes,  sir ;  and  the  gentleman 
had  to  seek  military  protection  from  some  of 
these  men. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  The  last  time  I  remember 
seeing  the  gentleman  in  the  country,  he  came 
over  to  Mexico  and  sought  protection  from  a 
military  camp  over  which  I  had  command. 
[Laughter.] 

Mr.  HOWELL.  Certainly,  sir.  Now,  Mr. 
President,  I  repeat,  the  object  is  not  to  put 
down  the  rebellion  now,  but  it  is  to  quiet  the 
country ;  to  induce  men  who  have  been  in  the 
rebellion,  by  soothing  means,  to  turn  back  to 
their  former  avocations,  and  to  induce  men 
who  have  been  in  the  brush,  intimidating  good 
and  loyal  men  in  their  vicinity,  to  come  out  of 
the  brush  arid  take  the  positions  which  they 
occupied  before  this  rebellion,  as  good  and 
respectable  members  of  society.  Now,  what 
have  we  recently  heard  from  the  south-western 
portion  of  the  State?  We  have  heard  that 
Price's  army,  in  large  fragments,  has  returned 
to  south  western  Missouri,  and  resolvent  them- 
selves into  guerrilla  bands,  and  that  they  buye 
recently  defeated  one  of  our  regiments,  killed 
a  colonel,  and  taken  a  large  number  of  prison- 
ers. 1  know,  in  my  region  of  country,  small 
bands  of  the  same  class  of  men,  although  not 
as  formidable,  infest  the  woods,  and  they  cannot 
be  found  or  captured  by  the  military  authori- 
ties, especially  since  the  leaves  have  come  out. 
If  this  rash  legislation  is  brought  to  bear  upon 
these  men,  they  will  remain  where  they  are 
and  become  doubly  desperate  and  dangerous, 
and  receive  addition?,  until  this  whole  country 
of  ours  will  be  filled  with  guerrilla  bands  and 
marauders.  It  is  true  they  are  not  formidable 
enough  to  withstand  the  organized  forces  of 
the  United  States,  but  they  are  sufficient  to 
intimidate  neighborhoods  and  keep  men  away 
from  their  homes,  whose  presence  is  required 
there — to  keep  the  whole  country  excited  and 
convulsed^  and  to  retard  its  march  of  prosperity, 
and  generate  social  feuds  and  strifes,  until  the 
leaves  have  fallen  at  least.  And,  sir,  if  we 
miss  another  crop  on  account  of  this  reign  of 


63 


terror  and  desolation,  what  will  be  the  condi- 
tion of  Missouri  at  the  end  of  another  year? 
The  question,  sir,  is  more  easily  asked  than 
answered,  and  therefore,  sir,  I  ask  the  gentle- 
men of  this  Convention  to  contemplate  what 
will  be  the  effect  of  this  invidious  system  of 
legislation  that  is  proposed  by  the  majority  of 
the  Committee,  before  they  inaugurate  it. 

Now,  the  gentleman  from  Randolph,  (Mr. 
Hall,)  who  is  doing  credit  to  his  State  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation,  and,  I  am  glad  to  say, 
has  helped  to  check  the  radicalism  of  that 
body,  has  told  us  that  the  proposition  which 
was  introduced  by  the  gentleman  from  Monroe 
(Mr.  Howell)  as  the  minority  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Elections,  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
radical  and  extreme  of  the  two  propositions 
that  have  emanated  from  that  coinmitiee.  I  do 
not  desire  to  discuss  that  question,  but  I  desire 
to  compare  the  one  with  the  other,  and  to 
ascertain  whether  the  one  is  more  radical  than 
the  other.  The  great  object  I  have  in  view, 
and  the  object  I  apprehend  this  body  has  in 
view,  is  to  restore  qiiiet  to  the  State,  and  to 
inaugurate  peace;  and  the  practical  question  is, 
which  proposition  is  best  calculated  to  consol- 
idate that  harmony  and  quiet  and  those  fra- 
ternal relations  so  necessary  for  the  welfare  of 
the  State?  I  think  mine  is,  sir.  Mine  does 
not  impair  the  hold  that  the  loyal  men  now 
have  upon  the  State.  My  proposition  is  to  put 
this  Government,  from  Governor  down  to 
Constable,  into  the  hands  of  unquestioned  loyal 
men,  where,  in  the  present  condition  of  Mis- 
souri, I  believe  it  properly  belongs.  Now,  sir, 
this  may  be  more  radical  than  the  other,  because 
it  is  more  efficacious  for  the  purpose  1  have  in 
view  ;  but  the  question  is  whether  it  will  excite 
the  people — whether  it  will  stir  up  the  passions 
of  the  people  of  the  State,  as  the  other  will. 

I  know,  sir,  that  among  the  secessionist  the 
Union  party  of  the  State  was  at  one  time  odiousj 
I  know  it  was  brought  into  disrepute  by  these 
men  j  but,  sir,  I  think  that  the  practical  legis- 
lation of  this  Convention  has  produced,  is 
producing,  in  the  most  radical  districts  of  this 
State,  a  fundamental  change  in  public  opinion 
on  that  subject ;  and  when  I  say  that,  I  do 
not  say  it  unadvisedly.  I  have  taken  pains  to 
advise  myself  upon  that  question. 

Now,  sir,  why  is  this  project  which  I  propose 
more  acceptable  lhan  the  other  ?  It  is  riot  alone 
efficacious  in  securing  the  peace  and  quiet  of 
the  State,  and  in  keeping  the  government  of  the 
State  in  loyal  hands  ;  but  it  runs  no  distinction 
among  the  tax  payers  and  road  woikers  of  this 


country,  or  the  men  who  bear  the  burdens  of 
his  State.  Sir,  this  body  was  elected  by  all 
he  people  of  the  State,  or  at  least  by  eighty 
ihousand  majority  of  the  free  and  independent 
voters  of  the  State.  It  is  then  (although  the 
people  may  have,  to  some  extent,  changed  their 
minds  since  the  Convention  was  elected)  the 
people's  choice.  It  was  elected  by  the  people  ; 
t  represents  the  people,  and  it  is  no  great  as- 
sump'ion  of  power  or  jurisdiction  in  this  revo- 
utionary  and  extraordinary  times  for  this  Con- 
vention, representing  the  great  body  of  the 
people,  to  resort  to  extraordinary  means.  Sir, 
ordinary  resolutions  will  not  do  in  times  that 
are  not  ordinary.  This,  sir,  was  one  of  the 
most  formidable  convulsions  or  revolutions  ihe 
world  has  ever  seen,  and  it  cannot  be  expected 
that  we  will  confine  ourselves  to  red  tape  in 
our  legislation.  1  believe,  sir,  lhat  the  loyal 
men  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  unless  it  be  some 
gentlemen  who  desire  office,  would  be  satisfied 
with  the  ordinance  as  proposed  by  the  mionrity 
of  this  Convention,  and  I  believe  it  would  be 
more  soothing  to  the  men  who  have  been  disloy- 
al, and  productive  of  better  results  than  any  oth- 
r  scheme  which  could  be  proposed.  As  I  have 
remaiked,  it  makes  no  distinction  among  the 
people  of  the  State.  This  Convention  was 
elected  by  the  people,  and  if  it  undertakes  to 
make  distinctions  among  our  citizens,  or  to  re- 
strict their  rights,  there  will  be  no  end  to  it. 
But,  sir,  there  are  other  reasons  which  I  de- 
sire to  urge  in  this  matter.  I  want  to  know 
what  we  want  of  a  Legislature  ?  It  is  proposed 
that  we  shall  continue  the  Governor,  Lieuten- 
ant Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State,  in  office, 
for  the  residue  of  the  term  for  which  Governor 
Jackson  was  elected.  I  say,  then,  in  order  to 
be  consistent  in  our  action,  we  should  carry 
out  ihe  whole  policy,  and  postpone  all  elections. 
I  ki  ow  of  no  necessity  for  a  Legislature.  If 
the  next  Legislature  were  to  be  similar  in  their 
action  to  most  Legislatures  heretofore,  the 
most  of  their  legislation  would  be  devoted  to  de- 
claring infants  of  age,  lay  ing  out  county  and  State 
roads,  authorizing  guardians  to  sell  land,  and 
soon,  through  the  whole  catalogue  of  special 
and  odious  legislation.  Sir,  this  is  a  time  when 
we  should  begin  to  economize.  A  Legislature 
would  cost  say  $150,000,  and  what  would  its 
legislation  be  actually  worth  ?  I  undertake  to 
say,  «s  far  as  its  general  legislation  is  concern- 
ed, it  would  not  be  worth  $500  to  the  State. 
How  much  damage  it  would  cause,  I  am  not 
prepared  to  say. 
But,  sir,  it  is  proposed  to  put  this  State,  now, 


64 


entirely  in  the  hands  of  loyal  men  by  making  a 
most  invidious  distinction  and  discrimination 
between  voters ;  and  it  is  proposed  that  the 
Legislature  shall  have  the  power  hereafter  to 
reinstate  the  voters  who  would  be  disqualified 
by  this  ordinance  in  the  elective  franchise. 
Now,  let  us  look  at  this  as  fair  and  candid  men. 
I  do  not  talk  to  the  extreme  men  of  either  wing 
in  this  Convention,  but  I  am  talking  to  the  con- 
servative men.  Suppose,  under  this  sweeping 
and  disqualifying  ordinance  that  is  proposed 
here,  the  Legislature  is  composed  of  what  is 
called  the  radical  anti-slavery  elements  of  the 
State.  That  class  of  men  are  "loyal,"  and 
they  will  be  permitted  to  vote,  while,  in  my 
opinion,  they  are  as  dangerous  to  the  peace  of 
the  country  as  the  radical  secessionists.  Yet, 
sir,  there  is  no  proposition,  except  the  one  of- 
fered by  my  old  friend  on  the  right  (Mr.  Zim- 
merman) to  disqualify  them.  They  will,  un- 
der this  disqualifying  ordinance  that  is  pro- 
posed here,  in  all  probability,  with  the  aid  of 
the  military,  get  control  of  the  State.  They 
will  get  political  control  of  the  State,  and  un- 
der this  kind  of  "hocus  pocus"  election,  ob. 
tain  a  majority  in  the  Legislature.  That  Leg- 
islature, this  ordinance  proposes,  may  reinstate 
men  to  the  elective  franchise,  and  may  remove 
the  restrictions  to  hold  office.  Sir,  did  you 
ever  hear  of  a  dominant  party  in  power  sur- 
rendering their  power  before  accomplishing 
their  purposes  ?  Can  we  expect  this  party 
would  reinstate  the  voters  here  until  they  had 
accomplished  the  pet  purpose  that  is  foreshad- 
owed in  the  Democrat  of  yesterday  ? 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  ask  the  gentle- 
man whether  he  thinks,  by  any  restrictions  in 
this  ordinance,  there  is  any  possibility  that 
this  State,  will  elect  an  Emancipation  Legis- 
lature ? 

Mr.  HOWELL.     I  am  not  prepared  to  say. 

Mr.  HALL.  Has  the  gentleman  any  doubt 
about  it? 

Mr.  HOWELL.     I  have. 

Mr.  HALL.  Well,  I  am  surprised  to  hear 
the  gentleman  say  he  has  a  doubt. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  am  prepared  to  give  it  as 
my  opinion,  sir,  that  in  many  counties  in  this 
State  there  will  not  be  one  hundred  votes  cast 
out  of  1,800  or  2,000,  in  consequence  of  these 
restrictions,  and  when  I  say  this,  I  do  not 
say  it  on  the  "  spur  of  the  moment/7  or  with- 
out due  reflection  or  deliberation. 

Mr.  HALL.  I  ask  the  gentleman  whether  he 
thinks  they  will,  in  these  counties,  elect  eman- 
cipation candidates,  or  whether  any  man  would 


venture  to  run  in  those  counties  on  the  emanci- 
pation ticket. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  Well,  I  don?t  know  about 
that.  I  think  in  some  of  them  they  would. 
Now,  sir,  I  am  not  trying  to  make  a  pretty 
speech.  I  got  up  to  give  my  experience  and 
my  belief  as  to  the  practical  effect  of  this  thing, 
and  I  ask  gentlemen  from  different  parts  of  the 
State  to  compare  their  experiences  and  see  if 
they  do  not  arrive  at  conclusions  similar  to 
mine. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  I  desire  to  ask  the  gen- 
tleman one  question.  I  ask  him  how  long  he 
supposes  the  institution  of  slavery  can  exist  in 
Missouri  if  the  Union  men  of  Missouri  are 
impressed  with  the  idea  that  it  can  only  be 
sustained  by  secession  votes  and  treason  ?  I 
say  it  cannot  be  sustained  six  months. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  have  given  my  opinion 
on  that  subject.  I  believe  that  the  secessionists 
of  Missouri  by  this  rebellion,  which  they  got 
up,  have  done  more  damage  to  the  institution 
of  slavery  than  all  the  abolitionists  in  America 
could  have  done  in  fifty  years.  My  opinion 
is  that,  practically,  there  is  but  little  differ- 
ence between  the  extreme  anti-slavery  party 
of  the  State  and  the  secession  party  of  the 
State.  I  believe  that  abolitionism  is  secession 
or  rebellion,  and  that  secession  is  practical 
abolition.  That  is  my  opinion,  and  I  am  going 
to  be  frank  about  it.  I  say,  therefore,  with- 
out detaining  the  Convention  further  at  the 
present  time,  that  I  shall  vote  to  strike  out 
that  part  of  the  ordinance  as  proposed  by  the 
gentleman  from  Greene,  and  then,  when  in  or- 
der, I  shall  offer  the  ordinance  that  I  reported 
as  the  minority  of  the  Committee  on  Elections, 
as  a  substitute  for  the  whole  ordinance  that 
is  before  the  Convention. 

Mr.  LEEPER.  Since  I  have  been  a  member 
of  this  body  I  have  remained  silent,  but  upon 
this  question  I  desire  to  make  a  few  remarks. 
I  represent,  in  connection  with  several  of  my 
colleagues,  one  of  the  largest  districts,  in  point 
of  territory,  in  the  State,  and  I  do  not  suppose 
many  districts  have  contributed  more  into  the 
State  treasury  than  my  district  has.  As  I  have 
during  the  existence  of  these  troubles  mixed 
all  the  time  with  the  people  of  my  section  of 
country,  I  think  upon  this  occasion  I  may  be 
able  to  state  some  facts  which  may  be  of  ser- 
vice so  far  as  this  question  is  concerned.  In 
the  first  place,  I  wish  to  pay  some  attention  to 
the  remarks  of  other  gentlemen  upon  this  floor. 
My  friend  from  Greene  (Mr.  Orr)  informed 
us,  yesterday,  that  we  must  be  patient — that 


65 


patience  made  great  men.  That  may  be  true 
in  some  respects,  but  in  some  instances  there 
is  no  philosophy  in  it.  We  have  an  instance  of 
this  in  point.  Why,  the  President  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  at  the  breaking  out  of  this  rebellion, 
exerciseil  all  the  patience  imaginable,  and  stood 
still  until  secession  was  rampant,  and  Missouri 
well  nigh  ruined.  Now,  when  it  comes  to  re- 
bellion, patience  will  not  do.  The  people  of 
Missouri  have  been  patient,  and  they  have 
learned  that  patience  will  not  do  in  the  work 
of  putting  down  the  rebellion  in  this  State.  My 
friend  said,  furthermore,  that  the  restrictions 
we  intended  to  throw  around  the  voters  would 
keep  the  army  of  Price  from  returning  to  Mis- 
souri. Now,  if  your  feeling?  are  like  mine, 
you  would  be  proud  to  know  that  a  proposition 
of  this  sort  would  keep  that  army  from  return- 
ing. They  have  seceded.  They  are  practical 
secessionists.  They  have  put  their  theory  into 
operation.  They  have  left  our  State,  (not, 
however,  until  they  were  driven  out  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,)  and  have  joined  the  Southern 
Confederacy;  and  now,  I  would  be  glad  if  we 
could  adopt  a  proposition  which  would  prevent 
them  from  ever  coming  back  to  Missouri  to  an- 
noy us  any  more.  Now,  I  think,  if  this  restric- 
tion will  prevent  Price's  army  from  ever  ret,urn- 
ing  to  Missouri,  then  this  is  an  argument  that 
ought  to  be  used  in  favor  of  its  passage.  But, 
we  are  told  by  my  friend  from  Clay,  that  it 
will  not  do  to  restrict  these  men — that  if  we  do 
it  will  only  produce  violence  and  bloodshed. 
Well,  Mr.  President,  I  confess  that  assertion 
does  not  terrify  me.  When  we  were  here  in 
July  last,  and  had  under  consideration  the  pro- 
position to  depose  Gov.  Jackson,  what  did  the 
gentleman  from  Clay  then  tell  us?  He  said: 
"  Gentlemen,  don't  do  that  j  if  you  do,  you 
will  injure  our  condition  in  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri. You  will  exasperate  the  minds  of  these 
men.  They  are  tender  on  this  point,  and  con- 
sequently it  will  not  do  to  tamper  with  them  j 
if  you  do  you  will  only  bring  down  their  malig- 
nity on  our  own  heads." 

Mr.  Moss.    The  gentleman  is  mistaken  about 
my  advising  to  keep   Jackson  in  office.     I  an- 
nounced myself  against  him  in  the  beginning 
of  that  speech,  and  that  my  views  had  never 
been  altered  in  that  respect ;  but  that  I  believed 
that  the  proper  and  true  position  for  us  to  oc- 
cupy at  that  time  was  to  leave  it  in  the  hands 
of  the  military.     The   military  have  worked  ' 
out  the  problem.     I  wanted  to  leave  it  to  the  ' 
military,  and  I  think  I  was  right.     I  believe  ' 
the  military  have  accomplished  their  work  and  | 

5  ' 


proved  our  salvation.  It  was  not  with  a  desire 
to  keep  Jackson  in  that  I  took  that  position,  for 
I  have  been  his  bitter  enemy.  But  I  do  not  be- 
lieve in  mixing  up  the  civil  and  military  pow- 
ers. Now  that  we  have  got  rid  of  the  rebels, 
I  am  for  any  civil  government  that  may  be  set 
up. 

Mr.  LEEPER.  Well,  Mr.  President,  in  regard 
to  this  thing  of  stirring  up  and  bringing  down 
upon  our  heads  the  enmity  of  certain  men,  that 
thing  is  past.  I  did  not  come  here  for  the  pur- 
pose of  pleasing  the  rebels  or  secessionists; 
but  I  came  here,  at  the  outset,  to  do  what  I  be- 
lieved was  my  duty,  as  a  member  of  this  body, 
to  put  down  rebellion.  I  have  never  stopped 
to  reflect  for  one  moment  whether  it  would  be 
pleasant  to  this  or  that  man,  especially  if  he  is 
an  enemy  to  his  country.  I  recollect  very  well, 
when  this  question  was  up  last  July,  that  gen- 
tlemen said  it  would  not  do  to  offend  the  rebels, 
although  I  may  be  mistaken  in  regard  to  my 
friend  from  Clay.  But  we  are  told  here  that 
if  this  action  is  taken  it  will  stir  up  another 
hornet's  nest,  and  it  wont  do.  Now,  I  believe 
no  such  thing  as  this,  and  it  certainly  sounds 
strangely  to  hear  it  asserted.  After  we  have 
done  what  we  have — after  deposing  the  State 
officers  and  members  of  this  body  for  treason- 
able acts,  can  any  man  say  that  he  would  not  wish 
them  expelled  if  they  would  come  back  to  Mis- 
souri and  vote  at  our  elections  ?  I  think  there 
is  no  member  of  this  body  who  would  be  will- 
ing to  see  these  men  vote  at  our  elections.  But 
there  is  another  thing  that  surprises  me  some- 
what. In  the  first  section  of  this  ordinance 
there  is  a  clause  that  disfranchises  certain  indi- 
viduals who  have  levied  war  from  holding  of- 
fice, and  I  have  not  heard  a  single  member  of 
this  Convention  say  one  word  against  that 
branch  of  this  question.  But  when  you  come 
down  to  the  fact  that  certain  men,  guilty  of 
the  same  crime,  shall  not  be  allowed  to  vote, 
why  the  hue  and  cry  is  raised  that  you  are  go- 
ing to  ruin  the  country.  This  is  something  I 
cannot  understand.  Now,  I  maintain  this,  that 
if  am  qualified  to  hold  office  and  unworthy  to 
.hold  it,  I  am  not  qualified  to  vote;  and,  there- 
fore, when  I  vote  to  take  restrictions  from  the 
voter,  I  shall  vote,  at  the  same  time,  to  take  it 
from  the  office  holder.  I  cannot  see  why  a  man 
should  not  be  allowed  to  hold  office  if  he  is  al- 
lowed to  vote.  Now,  if  there  is  anything  to  be 
done  at  all,  I  wish  it  done  effectually ;  and  if 
we  are  to  open  the  flood  gates  and  let  men  who 
have  b^en  in  arms  against  the  Government — 
men  who  have  brought  the  Government  of  the 


66 


the  United  States  to  the  brink  of  ruin  —  who 
have  done  everything  to  destroy  the  institutions 
of  their  fathers — if  we  are  to  let  this  class  of 
men  vote,  then  I  am  for  openii  g  the  flood  gates 
and  allowing  all  to  vote.  I  consider  it  useless 
to  attempt  to  put  down  this  rebellion,  and  allow 
this  thing  to  go  on.  I  consider  that  those  who 
have  failed  to  stand  up  for  our  institutions 
shall  stand  aside  for  those  who  can. 

Now,  a  word  in  regard  to  test  oaths.  I  do 
not  believe  in  them.  I  have,  for  some  time, 
been  military  commander  of  a  small  post  in 
South-east  Missouri,  where  it  has  been  my  duty 
to  swear  men  with  these  test  oaths.  I  do  not 
believe  in  it ;  and  I  have  sworn  but  one  man, 
I  believe,  during  the  time  I  have  been  in  com- 
mand. I  saw  so  much  of  it,  and  so  little  regard 
paid  to  i%  that  I  naturally  disliked  to  see  it 
done.  I  have  known  men  take  the  oath,  and 
before  they  got  out  of  sight,  say  they  paid  no 
regard  to  it.  Now,  I  say,  when  it  comes  to 
binding  a  man  with  test  oaths,  I  have  but  little 
faith  in  it.  J  hold  it  to  be  about  this  way  : 
that  where  a  man  comes  home  and  is  willing  to 
do  his  duty,  he  need  not  be  sworn.  If  he  has 
a  different  purpose,  I  believe  all  the  oaths  in 
the  world  will  not  do  any  good.  If  the  princi- 
ple is  not  in  the  man,  you  cannot  swear  him  to 
it.  I  believe  the  safety  of  our  institutions  re- 
quires that  those  who  have  taken  up  arms 
against  the  Government  shall  not  be  permitted 
to  vote ;  and,  therefore,  I  am  opposed  to  strik- 
ing out  this  amendment.  Now,  I  have  been 
among  these  men.  I  have  many  friends  among 
them,  and  I  know  that  as  bad  rebels  as  there 
are  in  the  State  of  Missouri  —  men  who  have  i 
risen  at  the  hour  of  midnight  to  notify  me  of 
personal  danger,  and  who  would  do  anything 
to  keep  me  out  of  danger — would  not  turn  upon 
their  heels  to  save  this  Government.  I  have  no- 
ticed them  in  all  their  avocations  of  life.  If  a  re- 
port is  circulated  of  a  reverse  to  our  arms,  you 
will  see  them  rejoice  greatly.  Yet,  these  men 
have  taken  the  oath  to  support  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  since  the  rebellion  broke 
out.  When  I  see  this,  I  am  ready  to  believe 
that  if  this  State  should  be  overrun  again  ihese 
men  would  stand  where  they  have  al  ways  stood. 
Under  these  circumstances,  I  think  it  unsafe  to 
allow  these  men  to  vote  at  our  elections. 

Again  :  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  I  will 
not  support  the  ordinance  of  the  gentleman  from 
Monroe  (Mr.  Howell).  I  am  not  certain  but, 
under  the  circumstances,  it  will  be  preferable 
to  the  other.  If  I  go  for  the  other,  it  will  be 
on  account  of  such  a  proposition  as  it  now  con- 


tains. If  I  cannot  get  things  as  I  want  them, 
then  I  will  take  the  next  best.  This  suits  me, 
I  flunk,  with  this  exception:  "  or  has  since 
that  time  adhered  to  the  rebellion."  If  that 
was  stricken  out  of  the  first  section,  so  as  to 
read  "  no  person  who  has,  since  the  1st  day  of 
August,  1861,  taken  up  arms  or  levied  w^r 
against  the  United  States  shall  be  allowed  to 
hold  office,  or  vote,  at  any  election,"  it  would 
suit  me  better. 

I  wish  tr>  allude  to  a  remark  made  by  my 
friend  from  Greene.  He  stated,  honestly  and 
sincerely  I  have  no  doubt,  that  in  the  Congres- 
sional District  represented  by  Phelps  there  was 
not  a  county  in  it  but  what  was  loyal.  I  ask 
him  if  he  has  ever  been  to  the  counties  of  How- 
ell  and  Oregon  ?  Why,  sir,  if  he  were  to  go 
there  to-day,  he  could  not  ride  five  miles  with- 
out being  assassinated.  There  are  those  two 
counties  in  which  I  know  an  election  cannot 
be  held. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  will  state  for  the  satisfaction 
of  the  gentleman,  that  I  said  if  the  Union  men 
and  secessionists  were  all  at  home.  Are  not 
all  the  Union  men  run  out  of  those  counties  at 
this  time? 

Mr.  LEEPER.  Most  of  the  Union  men  of 
those  counties  are  run  out.  Before  that,  they 
were  about  equal.  Now,  this  is  the  condition 
of  a  large  portion  of  South-east  Missouri,  and 
I  very  much  doubt  whether  a  fair  election  could 
be  held  there. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  move  to  adjourn  unti]  to- 
morrow morning  at  9  o'clock. 

Mr.  MCFERRA.N.  I  hope  that  motion  will 
not  prevail. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  presume  the  object  of  dis- 
cussing this  proposition,  which  is  an  important 
one,  is  to  elicit  information  ;  but  the  house  is 
not  in  a  condition  to  enjoy  a  discussion  of  that 
character,  and  I  think  it  would  be  no  more  than 
right  that  the  Convention  should  adjourn. 

The  motion  to  adjourn  was  lost. 

Mr.  WELCH.  As  the  Convention  has  voted 
down  that  motion,  I  now  move  to  adjourn  until 
half  past  9  to-morrow  morning. 

The  motion  was  lost. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  desire,  Mr.  President,  to 
submit  to  the  Convention  a  few  remarks  by  way 
of  giving  my  views  upon  the  proposition  before 
the  Convention,  but  I  do  not  desire  to  do  so  at 
so  late  an  hour  in  the  evening  j  but  as  it  seems 
to  be  the  desire  of  the  Convention  to  continue 
in  session,  it  becomes  my  duty  to  present  my 
views  to  the  Convention  at  this  time. 

The  first  section  of  this  ordinance,  if  I  un 


67 


derstnnd  it  correctly,  is  an  amendment  to  th« 
Constitution  of  the  State.  Practically,  it  goes 
to  that  extent,  and  no  further.  By  the  Consti- 
tution of  this  State,  ihe  qualification  of  a  voter 
is  established.  It  is  there  declared  that  every 
citizen  of  the  State,  of  a  certain  oge,  shall  be 
entitled  to  vote  at  all  elections  in  this  State  ; 
and  i he  first  section  of  this  ordinance  is  virtu- 
ally an  amendment  of  that  instrument.  It  de- 
clares that  a  certain  class  of  people  who  have 
been  guilty  of  certain  acts  shall  not  be  allow- 
ed to  vote  at  any  election  precinct  in  this  State, 
unbss  he  brings  himself  within  the  exception 
contained  in  the  ninth  section  of  this  ordinance. 
There  is,  however,  a  proviso  in  the  first  section, 
which  declares  that  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  State  shall  have  the  power  to  repeal  this 
ordinance,  as  far  as  one  class  of  voters  are 
concerned.  There  are  three  classes  of  voters, 
in  this  State,  under  this  bill.  There  is,  first, 
the  man  who  has  never  taken  up  arms  or  given 
aid  to  the  enemy.  Second,  the  man  who  has 
taken  up  arms  under  a  sense  of  duty  ;  and, 
third,  the  man  who  has  taken  up  arms  and  can 
make  the  special  plea  that  he  was  fraudulently 
induced  to  do  so.  There  is  one  class  of  men 
that  are  forever  debarred  from  the  right  of  suf- 
frage in  this  State,  unless  the  Legislature  to  be 
hereafter  elected  shall  remove  the  restriction 
which  this  Convention  is  about  to  impose. 

Now,  sir,  it  is  remarkable  that  the  Conven- 
tion, in  the  delegation  of  the  power  which  they 
gave  to  the  Legislature,  only  delega'ed  to  that 
body  the  power  to  remove  the  restriction  from 
those  who  have  taken  up  arms  knowingly  and 
wilfully.  To  that  class  of  citizens  of  this  State 
who  have  been  misled  into  the  rebellion,  and 
to  that  class  who  have  not  taken  up  arms  at  all, 
the  oath  which  this  ordinance  prescribes  is 
perpetual  and  everlasting,  and  the  Legislature 
is  not  given  the  power,  under  the  ordinance, 
ever  to  remove  that  restriction  upon  the  right 
of  suffrage.  I  wonder  that  my  friend  from 
Daviess,  (Mr.  McFerran,)  the  Chairman  of 
the  Committee,  should  have  confined  the  power 
of  the  Legislature  to  only  one  of  the  three 
classes  of  voters. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  think  the  gentleman  is 
under  a  misapprehension. 

Mr.  WELCH.  The  section  provides  that  no 
person  who  has,  since  the  1st  day  of  August, 
1861,  taken  up  arms  against  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  shall  vote,  unless  he  can  bring 
himself  under  the  ninth  section.  Then  the 
Legislature  is  authorized  to  do  what?  "  Pro- 
vided, that  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State 


may,  at  any  time,  repeal  or  modify  this  ordi- 
nance, or  any  part  thereof,  with  respect  to  such 
persons,  and  upon  such  terms,  whether  by  gen- 
eral or  special  act,  as  in  their  judgment  the 
best  interests  of  the  Commonwealth  may  re- 
quire." Who  are  "  the  such  persons"  desig- 
nated? Those  who  have  taken  up  arms  and 
can  make  the  special  plea  contained  in  the 
ninth  section  of  the  ordinance.  In  regard  to 
such  persons,  the  Legislature  is  authorized  to 
remove  the  restriction.  In  regard  to  all  other 
person*,  the  Legislature  is  not  entrusted  with 
that  power.  I  say  when  the  Committee  used 
that  language  in  the  first  section  of  the  ordi- 
nance they  only  confined  that  delegation  of  pow- 
er to  the  Legislature  to  the  removal  of  this  re- 
striction from  but  one  class  of  voters,  and  that 
the  most  offensive  class — those  who  have  taken 
up  arms  knowingly  and  wilfully.  Now,  is 
there  any  provision  in  this  ordinance  authoriz- 
ing the  Legislature  to  interfere,  at  any  time, 
and  remove  this  oath  prescribed  in  the  second 
or  subsequent  section  ?  By  no  means.  But 
they  are  authorized  to  repeal  or  modify  this 
ordinance,  or  any  part  thereof,  with  respect  to 
such  persons  as  are  designated  in  this  ordinance, 
and  those  persons  are  those  who  have  wilfully 
gone  into  the  rebellion. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  desire  to  correct  an  error 
the  gentleman  has  fallen  into.  I*  would  seem 
Prom  the  discussion  that  this  ordinance  is  dif- 
ficult to  understand.  There  may  be  too  much 
military  in  it  j  but  I  desire  to  call  the  attention 
of  the  gentleman  to  the  fact  that  the  first  section 
declnres  that  those  who  have  taken  up  arms 
shall  not  be  permitted  to  vote  or  hold  office, 
under  the  Constitution  of  thi«  State ;  and  that 
the  Legislature  may  repeal  or  modify  this 
provision  when  they  see  proper.  This  right 
of  tbe  Legislature  extends  to  the  whole  ordi- 
nance, or  any  part  thereof,  and  if  the  gentleman 
will  reflect  he  will  see  that  he  has  received  a 
wrong  impression.  The  right  of  the  Legisla- 
ture reaches  to  the  whole  ordinance. 

Mr.  WELCH.  With  all  respect  to  the  judg. 
ment  of  the  gentleman,  I  must  differ  with  him 
in  regard  to  the  construction  of  the  first  sec- 
tion. He  is  under  a  mistake  when  he  says  the 
power  of  the  Legislature  is  delegated  to  the 
whole  ordinance.  It  is  not  delegated  at  all, 
only  with  respect  to  that  part  which  has  ref- 
erence to  the  persons  named  in  the  first  section 
of  the  ordinance.  Has  the  attention  of  the 
Convention  been  called  particularly  to  the 
oath  that  is  required  of  every  voter,  loyal  or 
disloyal,  before  he  is  allowed  to  vote  ?  It  is 


68 


prescribed  that  the  office-holder  must  take  an 
oath  before  he  can  enjoy  the  rights  which  we 
have  heretofore  enjoyed,  and  that  he  shall  take 
the  oath  prescribed  by  this  ordinance.  It  is 
different  from  the  oath  usually  prescribed  to 
officers  in  this  government.  Heretofore,  the 
voters  of  the  land  have  not  been  required  to 
take  any  oath  ;  but  those  who  have  been  en- 
trusted with  the  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment and  with  the  execution  of  its  powers, 
have  been  required,  both  by  Ihe  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  and  of  this  State,  to  take 
a  certain  oath,  and  that  oath  has,  until  recently, 
been  considered  as  a  sufficient  guard  to  secure 
the  rights  of  the  people  The  office-holder  has 
heretofore  been  sworn  to  support  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States;  but  there  is  another 
obligation  which  the  people  think  it  necessary 
in  these  hours  of  danger  to  include  in  that  oath, 
and  he  is  to  be  required  to  swear,  in  addition 
to  a  support  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  that  he  will  support  the  Government  of 
the  United  Stares.  I  would  be  pleased,  Mr. 
President,  if  the  gentleman  from  Daviess  would 
let  us  know  what  additional  meaning  he  intend- 
ed by  the  introduction  of  these  words.  I  would 
like  to  know  the  distinction  which  that  gen- 
tleman draws  between  an  oath  to  support  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  an  oath 
to  support  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  I  ask  the  gentleman  from  Daviess  what 
is  the  Government  of  the  United  States  ?  It 
must  be  a  something  in  contra-distinction  to 
the  Constitution,  or  else  the  insertion  of  that 
provision  is  unnecessary  and  uncalled  for.  I 
say  it  must  be  something  additional  to  a  sup- 
port of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
to  that  which  has  heretofore  always  been  re- 
garded as  sufficient  for  those  entrusted  with 
power.  Now,  is  it  intended  that  we  are  to 
support  the  Government  at  Washington? 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  I  rise  to  a  point  of  or- 
der. It  is  unfair  to  go  into  a  discussion  over 
a  proposition  which  is  not  before  this  body  at 
this  time.  I  wrote  out  an  amendment,  on  yes- 
terday, to  strike  out  the  word  Government, 
and  it  is  unfair  for  the  gentleman  to  travel  out 
of  the  record  and  argue  on  a  proposition  that 
has  not  yet  come  up  for  our  consideration.  I 
think  as  he  does  in  reference  to  this  matter. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  would  not  have  gone  into 
that  line  of  argument,  only  it  seems  by  general 
consent  we  took  up  the  whole  proposition.  My 
friend  from  Daviess  insisted  that  this  amend- 
ment embraced  the  whole  question  j  and  I  again 
refer  to  the  proposition  which  I  was  about  to 


discuss — what  is  meant  in  the  oath  which  the 
voter  and  officer  is  required  to  take  as  a  pre- 
requisite to  the  enjoyment  of  their  privileges 
and  rights?  What  did  this  committee  mean 
when  they  ordained  that  no  man  should  be 
allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office  who  would  not 
swear  to  support  the  Government  at  Washing- 
ton ? 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  rise  to  another  point  of 
order.  J'he  fnends  of  ihis  bill  are  not  t'^na- 
cious  about  these  words,  and  it  is  wholly  use- 
less to  waste  time  on  this  point. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  do  not  know,  sir,  that  I  am 
authorized  to  take  it  for  granted  that,  because 
the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  (Mr.  Broad- 
head),  is  going  to  offer  an  amendment,  that, 
therefore,  it  will  be  adopted.  This  provision 
in  the  ordinance  met  the  approval  of  a  major- 
ity of  the  committee,  not  excepting  the  gen- 
tleman from  St.  Louis.  Mr.  Hitchcock  ;  for 
his  objection,  I  believe,  only  went  to  the  ninth 
section.  It  occurred  to  me,  Mr.  President, 
when  I  read  the  ordinance,  that  there  was 
something  lurking  behind  this  oath  of  more 
importance  than  would  attract  the  attention  of 
the  casual  observer  when  glancing  over  its 
provisions.  I  was  fearful,  sir,  that  there  was 
something  there  improper  and  uncalled  for, 
and  I  believed  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  re- 
quire the  freemen  of  this  land  to  swear  to  sup- 
port the  Government.  If  I  knew  that  these 
words  would  be  stricken  out,  I  would  not  con- 
sume the  time  of  this  Convention  by  discus- 
sion. I  wish  I  knew  whether  they  would  or 
not.  I  will,  however,  say  this  much,  that  I 
will  pass  over  what  I  intended  to  say  on 
that  branch  of  the  question  about  the  oath 
to  support  the  Government  at  Washington, 
and  await  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman 
from  St.  Louis.  The  Government  of  the 
United  States,  if  I  may  so  express  myself,  is  a 
trinity.  It  is  composed,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
of  three  separate  and  distinct  branches — the 
Legislative,  Executive,  and  Judicial.  These 
three,  I  believe,  constitute  the  Government, 
par  excellence.  What  then,  Mr.  President,  do 
I  undertake  to  do  when  I  swear  to  support  that 
Government?  Do  I  swear  to  support  every 
act  that  the  President  may  do  of  an  exccuiive 
character,  constitutional  or  otherwise  ?  Do  I 
swear  to  support  every  act  of  Congress  that 
may  be  passed,  whether  constitutional  or 
otherwise?  Do  1  swear  to  support  every*de- 
termination  of  the  Judiciary,  whether  right  or 
wrong  ?  I  hope,  so  far  as  that  branch  of  the 
Government  is  concerned,  that  more  of  those 


who  have  been  disposed  to  avoid  the  decisions 
of  the  Federal  Judiciary  will  be  sworn  to  sup- 
port them.  But  I  want  to  know  from  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  what  he  intended 
to  swear  me  to  support.  I  want  to  know  if  he 
intended  to  swear  me  to  support  every  act  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  every  act  of  both  branches 
of  Congress,  and  every  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  ?  If  so,  it  will  be 
the  largest  oath,  perhaps,  that  ever  was  ad- 
minisfered.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  it  would 
be  rather  difficult,  if  the  voter  should  be  indict- 
ed for  a  violation  of  this  ordinance,  to  convict 
him.  Sir,  if  there  is  anything  at  all  in  the 
phraseology  of  that  oath,  if  it  means  anything 
at  all,  it  means  nothing  more  nor  less  than  that 
the  citizens  of  Missouri  shall  be  sworn  to  sup- 
port the  Federal  Government,  constitutional 
or  otherwise. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  As  the  gentleman  has 
asked  me  to  state  what  I  understand  by  this 
expression,  I  will  do  so.  I  understand  that,  if 
Congress  pass  an  unconstitutional  law,  he  is 
not  bound,  under  the  law,  to  obey  it ;  for  the 
reason  that  it  is  not  government,  but  usurpa- 
tion :  and  the  same  with  regard  to  the  other 
proposition — if  the  President  commits  uncon- 
stitutional acts  not  warranted  by  the  Consti- 
tution— that  would  not  be  government,  but 
usurpation. 

Mr.  WELCH.  The  gentleman  has  given  an 
answer,  but  not  an  answer  by  any  means  to 
the  objection  I  made.  He  tells  us  an  uncon- 
stitutional act  is  usurpation.  So  said  the  gen- 
tlemen from  South  Carolina,  and  they  rebelled. 
He  tells  me  I  have  the  right  under  oath  to  nul- 
lify any  act  of  Congress  if  it  is  unconstitution- 
al. That  is  all  the  right  the  Secessionists  have 
asked. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.     In  a  constitutional  way. 

Mr.  WELCH.  When  the  constituted  author- 
ities have  passed  an  unconstitutional  law,  the 
gentleman  says  I  must  submit  until  they  see  fit 
to  remove  it — until  Congress  shall  step  in  and 
repeal  it — or  the  Supreme  Court  reverse  it.  I 
understand,  then,  that  the  proposition  is  to  re- 
quire every  voter  to  take  an  oath  to  support, 
protect,  and  defend  the  Government,  let  that 
Government  do  as  it  may.  Now,  do  you  tell 
me  that  the  application  of  an  oath  of  that  kind 
will  tend  to  allay  the  excitement  of  the  people 
of  Missouri?  Do  you  tell  me  that  the  people 
of  Missouri,  or  anybody  except  a  Lincoln  man, 
can  take  that  oath  with  that  provision  in  it? 
Who  then  can  vote  under  this  ordinance  except 
it  be  a  Lincoln  man,  or,  at  least,  a  man  who  is 


willing  to  support  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  No  other  class  of  citizens  in 
this  State  can  vote  except  those  who  are  will- 
ing to  support,  protect  and  defend  the  Govern- 
ment at  Washington.  Now  we  are  told,  sir, 
that  this  test  is  to  be  applied  to  citizens.  Why, 
sir,  the  question  asked  by  the  gentleman  from 
Randolph  (Mr.  Hall)  may  well  meet  with  the 
answer  of  the  gentleman  from  Monroe  (Mr. 
Howell).  Do  you  suppose  emancipationists 
will  be  elected  ?  I  say  no  man  but  an  emanci- 
pationist can  take  a  seat  in  this  Hall  if,  in 
order  to  come  here,  he  must  take  an  oath  to 
support  the  Government  at  Washington.  What 
does  the  Government  at  Washington  say  ?  We 
would  like  very  mu<  h  to  have  you  emancipate 
these  slaves.  The  Government  at  Washington 
is  committed  to  that  policy,  and  we  are  to  be 
sworn  to  protect  and  defend  that  Government. 
It  is  a  handsome  scheme  to  turn  over  the  power 
of  the  State,  and  this  is  the  way  this  policy  is 
to  be  inaugurated  and  executed.  Strange,  in- 
deed, Mr.  President,  that  the  committee  should 
have  proposed  such  a  proposition. 

There  are  a  variety  of  minor  objections  to 
the  ordinance.  The  power  of  the  judges  of 
elections  is  greater  than  it  should  be.  Then, 
the  judge  of  an  election  is  indictable  if  he  per- 
mits to  be  recorded  the  vote  of  any  person  who 
shall  not  have  taken  the  oath;  but  there  is  no 
provision  in  the  ordinance  fixing  the  evidence 
of  that  oath.  For  instancp,  I  reside  in  a  re- 
mote portion  of  a  county,  and  I  go  before  an 
officer  residing  in  rny  neighborhood  who  is 
authorized  to  administer  the  oath,  and  I  take 
the  oath  required  by  this  ordinance  and  I  go  to 
the  county  seat  and  vote.  Or,  I  reside  in  a 
remote  portion  of  a  county,  and  go  to  the 
county  seat  and  there  declare  most  positively 
that  I  did  take  the  oath  in  my  neighborhood 
before  I  came  to  the  county  seat.  Then,  what 
is  the  duty  of  the  judge?  He  must  either  per- 
mit my  name  to  be  recorded,  which  if  he  does 
he  will  be  indictable,  or  he  must  refuse  me 
permission  to  vote  without  a  challenge.  In 
either  case  it  would  be  wrong.  I  am  rather 
inclined  to  the  opinion  that  the  proposition  in- 
troduced by  the  gentleman  from  Monroe  (Mr. 
Howell)  is  much  better  than  the  one  reported 
back  by  the  committee.  I  know  it  will  be 
better  if  these  objectionable  words  are  retained 
in  these  oaths,  if  these  oaths  are  continued  as 
now.  If  the  voter  and  office-holder  are  to  be 
required  to  swear  to  support  the  Government 
at  Washington,  the  people  will  regard  it  as  an 
especial  favor  to  have  no  election  at  all.  As 


70 


well  remarked  by  the  gentleman  from  Monroe, 
we  are  in  no  need  of  legislative  action  what- 
ever, except  what  this  Convention  can  well 
provide.  We  have  an  abundance  of  statute 
law,  enough  to  ruin  any  people,  and  there  is 
cow  no  actual  necessity  for  any  additional 
legislation,  except  that  which  might  arise  out 
of  this  rebellion,  and  that  we  are  abundantly 
able  to  provide  for.  There  are  other  objec- 
tions to  this  ordinance  which  I  may  think  it 
necessary  hereafter  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
Convention  to;  but  as  it  is  getting  late,  and  the 
members  are  tired  by  a  long  session,  I  will  not 
detain  them  longer. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  desire  to  ask  the  gen- 
tleman if  he  voted  for  the  ordinance  passed  at 
the  October  session,  requiring  all  incumbents 
in  office  to  take  an  oath  to  support  the  Provi- 
sional Government,  as  well  as  all  persons  to 
be  appointed,  and  did  he  not  also  vote  for  the 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Davis  (Mr. 
McFerran)  applying  this  to  private  indivi- 
duals ? 

Mr.  WELCH.     I  did  not. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.    Not  for  either  of  them  ? 

Mr.  WELCH.     No,  ?ir. 

Mr.  COMINGO.  I  do  not  feel  disposed,  sir, 
to  let  this  question  pass  without  a  few  re- 
marks, and  I  regret  gentlemen  did  not  consent 
to  adjourn  until  to-morrow  morning. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS.  I  think  it  is  eminently  due 
the  gentleman  from  Jackson  (Mr.  Comingo), 
that  he  should  have  an  opportunity  to  address 
the  Convention  on  thi"  subject.  It  will  be  re- 
membered, at  the  outset  of  the  Convention,  the 
gentleman  from  Jackson  introduced  a  series  of 
resolutions  touching  the  subject  under  consid- 
eration, and  he  has  been  expecting  to  discuss 
the  proposition  now  before  the  Convention. 
We  have  been  in  session  all  day,  and  as  the 
hour  is  late,  I,  therefore,  move  to  adjourn  to 
half-past  eight  to-morrow  morning. 

The  motion  to  adjourn  was  lost. 

Mr.  COMINGO.  I  will  again  repeat  that  I  re- 
gret exceedingly  that  the  Convention  has  not 
seen  fit  to  adjourn  at  the  present  hour,  in  view 
of  the  adverse  circumstances  which  exist  at 
the  present  .time.  I  shall  decline  to  address 
the  Convention  this  evening,  hoping  that  in  the 
future  discussion  of  the  subject  I  may  have  an 
opportunity  to  discuss  the  merits  of  the  bill. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on  the 
adoption  of  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  Greene  (Mr.  Orr). 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  demanded,  and  the 
vote  being  taken,  resulted — ayes  44  ;  nays  24. 


So  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from 
Greene  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  HENPRICKS.  (When  his  name  was 
called.)  I  shall  vote  No,  with  the  understand- 
ing that  an  amendment  will  be  offered  to  strike 
out  Ihe  words  in  the  second  line,  "  or  who  has 
since  that  time  given  aid,  assistance,  or  en- 
couragement, to  those  engaged  in  rebellion." 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  I  move  that  the  ordi- 
nance be  re-committed  to  the  committee. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

A  motion  to  adjourn  was  lost. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  move  to  instruct  the  com- 
mittee to  report  an  ordinance  on  the  basis  of 
the  minority  report. 

Mr.  BOGY.  I  move  to  adjourn  until  to-mor- 
row morning  at  half-past  eight  o'clock. 

The  motion  was  lost. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  Chair  will  announce 
the  committee  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Hudgens  : 
Mess's.  Jrwin,  Hendiicks,  Moss,  Shanklin, 
and  McDowell. 

Mr.  HOWELL.     I  renew  my  proposition. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  wish  to  make  a  remark.  If  I 
understand  the  proposition,  it  is  to  instruct  the 
committee  to  report  an  ordinance  dispensing 
with  the  election  entirely  of  all  State  and 
county  officers. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  My  proposition  is  to  make 
the  series  harmonic.  The  majority  of  the 
Committee  on  Elections  and  Elective  Fran- 
chise have  reported  in  favor  of  continuing  the 
present  State  Government  for  the  residue  of 
the  term  for  which  Jackson  was  elected.  My 
proposition  is  to  dispense  with  all  other  elec- 
tions except  members  of  Congress. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  With  all  due  respect  to 
my  friend,  I  do  not  see  any  necessity  for  pass- 
ing these  instructions  to  the  committee.  Now, 
when  the  question  comes  up  here,  all  we  have 
got  to  do  is  to  move  to  postpone  all  elections, 
and  declare  that  one-half  of  the  people  are 
crazy,  and  that  the  other  half  are  sane  on  all 
subjects  ;  and  it  is  a  matter  that  can  be  accom- 
plished in  about  two  minutes. 

Mr.  RAY.  If  my  friend  from  Monroe 
will  move  to  re-commit,  with  instructions  to 
report  a  proposition  upon  the  basis  of  the 
majority  and  minority  reports,  it  will  carry 
out  his  idea.  The  majority  report  is  to  sus- 
pend the  election  of  Governor,  Lieut-Gov- 
ernor, and  Secretary  of  State  ;  and  the  minority 
report,  as  supplemental  to  that,  is  to  suspend 
the  election  of  members  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly and  county  officers.  Now,  I  understand 
the  gentleman's  object  to  be,  to  instruct  the 


71 


committee  to   report    an   ordinance  upon  the 
basis  of  both  these  reports. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  may  be  crazy,  but  I  trust  1 
have  some  common  sense.  The  majority  of 
the  Committee  on  Elections  and  Elective  Fran- 
chise have  reported  in  favor  of  dispensing  with 
the  election  of  State  officers.  This  bill  is  now 
lying  on  the  table.  It  is  proposed  to  re-commit 
the  ordinance  we  have  been  discussing  regard- 
ing the  qualifications  of  voters.  .Now,  in  place 
of  that,  I  want  the  committee  instructed  to 
finish  out  the  system,  by  reporting  the  ordinance 
that  the  minority  of  that  committee  reported  to 
the  Convention. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  Then  I  move  to  take  the 
the  other  ordinance  from  the  table,  and  re- 
commit it  with  this. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  That  there  may  be  no  mis- 
apprehension, I  move  that  the  majority  report 
continuing  the  present  State  officers  in  office, 
be  taken  up. 

The  PRESIDENT.  It  will  be  so  ordered,  if 
there  is  no  objection. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  now  move  to  re-commit 
that  ordinance,  together  with  the  minority  re- 
port, with  instructions  to  report  them  back  on 
the  basis  of  the  minority  report. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  now  move  to  refer  all 
the  pending  questions  before  the  house,  with 
the  minority  report  and  other  matters,  to  the 
Committee  on  Elections.  That  will  leave  them 
without  instructions.  If  the  committee,  to- 
morrow morning,  shall  report  a  different  thing, 
it  will  b?  an  easy  matter  to  make  it  all  right. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  The  motion  made  by  the 
gentleman  from  Monroe,  in  the  first  place,  cov- 
ered all  that  was  necessary.  He  moved  to  in- 
struct the  committee  to  make  a  report  on  the 


basis  of  his  report,  and  represented  the  effect 
would  be  to  postpone  all  elections.  Of  course, 
if  the  committee  report  an  ordinance  of  that 
character  it  includes  the  whole  thing,  and  the 
gentleman's  motion  was  right  in  the  first  place  j 
and  I  desire,  as  one  of  the  committee,  to  have 
an  expression  upon  that  point.  If  the  Conven- 
tion votes  in  favor  of  the  motion  of  the  gentle- 
man from  Monroe,  the  effect  of  it  will  be  to 
instruct  the  committee  to  report  an  ordinance 
on  the  basis  of  his  report,  which  is,  that  there 
shall  be  no  elections  in  this  State.  I  hope  the 
house  will  take  a  vote. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  chairman  of  the 
committee  seems  to  desire  a  vote  upon  the 
instructions,  and  if  the  gentleman  from  Pike 
(Mr.  Henderson)  will  withdraw  his  motion 
the  vote  can  be  taken. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say 
how  I  will  vote.  I  must  confess  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  say  whether  I  am  in  favor  of  the 
postponement  of  the  elections  or  riot.  There 
are  circumstances  that  will  induce  me  to  vote 
in  favor  of  a  postponement.  There  are  two 
things  that  will  induce  me  to  do  so  ;  and  when 
the  case  comes  before  this  body  I  shall  give  my 
reasons,  and  I  am  not  exactly  prepared  to  vote 
on  the  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Mon- 
roe, or  to  condemn  it.  I  have  no  doubt,  how- 
ever, in  regard  to  the  propriety  of  this  action, 
and  hence  it  is  I  desire  the  Convention  to  think 
about  this  matter.  I  hope  the  question  will 
not  be  acted  on  this  evening. 

The  motion  of  Mr.  Howell  was  lost;  and 
the  motion  to  re-commit  the  bill  defining  the 
qualifications  of  voters  was  agreed  to. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  to  9  A.  M., 
o-morrow. 


72 


SIXTH   DAY. 


JEFFERSON  CITY, 
Saturday,  June  6,  1862. 
Met  at  9  A.  M. 
Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 
Journal  read  and  approved. 

GRADUAL     EMANCIPATION. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE  introduced  the  following; 
ordinance : 

AN  OKDINANCE  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  SUBMIT- 
TING TO  A  VOTE  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  MIS- 
SOURI CERTAIN  AMENDMENTS  TO  THE 
CONSTITUTION,  AND  A  SCHEME  FOR  THE 
GRADUAL  EMANCIPATION  OF  SLAVES. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri in  Convention  assembled,  as  follows  : 
SECTION  1.  That  the  first  and  second  clauses 
of  the  26th  section  of  the  3d  article  of  the  Con- 
stitution be  and  the  same  are  hereby  abolished. 
SEC.  2.  That  all  negroes  and  mulattoes  who 
shall  be  born  in  slavery  in  this  State,  from 
and  after  the  first  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1865, 
shall  be  deemed  and  considered   slaves  until 
they  shall  arrive  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years, 
and  no  longer,  unless  sooner  permanently  re- 
moved from  the  State. 

Provided,  always.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State,  at  its 
first  regular  session  after  this  ordinance  shall 
take  effect,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be 
practicable,  to  provide  by  law  for  the  pay- 
ment to  the  owners  of  those  negroes  and  mulat- 
toes who  would  but  for  this  ordinance  have 
been  born  slaves  for  life,  a  full  equivalent  for 
their  value  at  the  expiration  of  their  term  of 
service,  and  also  to  provide  by  law  for  their 
removal  to  such  place  or  places  beyond  the 
limits  of  this  Slate  as  may  be  designated  by 
the  General  Assembly,  at  the  expense  of  the 
State,  of  such  persons  as  they  arrive  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five  years  ;  and  also  to  address  a  me- 
morial to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
announcing  the  acceptance  by  the  State  of 
Missouri  of  the  offer  made  in  the  resolution  re- 
commended for  adoption  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  approved  April  — ,  1862,  and 
asking  a  fulfilment  of  the  pledge  therein  con- 
tained, to  aid  those  States  which  should  provide 
by  law  for  the  emancipation  of  slaves,  in  bear- 
ing the  burdens  thereby  incurred. 

SEC.  3.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  eveiy 
person  who  shall  be  the  owner,  or  who  shall 


have  charge  for  the  owner  or  owners  thereof, 
of  any  negro  or  mulatto  born  in  this  State  after 
the  first  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1865,  to  deliver, 
or  cause  to  be  delivered,  within  six  months  af- 
ter the  birth  of  said  negro  or  mulatto,  to  the 
Clerk  of  the  County  Court  of  the  county  in 
which  he  or  she  may  reside,  or  in  which  said 
negro  or  mulatto  may  be  born,  to  be  duly  filed 
and  recorded  in  his  office  in  a  record  book  to 
be  provided  for  that  purpose,  a  paper  duly 
signed,  stating  the  name,  age  and  sex  of  said 
negro  or  mulatto,  and  the  name  and  residence 
of  the  owner  or  owners  thereof ;  and  failing  in 
this,  shall  be  deemed  to  have  relinquished  all 
claim  for  compensation  as  provided  in  section 
two  for  said  negro  or  mulatto  so  not  registered. 

SEC.  4.  That  from  and  after  the  date  at  which 
this  ordinance  shall  take  effect,  no  slaves  shall 
be  brought  into  this  State. 

SEC.  5.  That  at  the  election  of  State  officers, 
to  be  held  on  the  first  Monday  of  August,  A. 
D.  1864,  the  several  Cleiks  of  the  County 
Courts,  or,  in  case  said  Clerks  shall  fail  to  do 
so,  then  the  clerks  of  the  election,  shall,  in 
preparing  the  poll  books  for  the  election,  enter 
thereon  two  columns,  one  headed  "For  gradu- 
al emancipation,"  and  the  other  "  Against 
gradual  emancipation  ;"  and  if  a  majority  of 
the  legal  votes  given  be  for  gradual  emancipa- 
tion, then  this  ordinance  shall  take  effect  and 
be  in  full  force  j  and  if  a  majority  of  the  legal 
votes  given  be  against  gradual  emancipation, 
then  this  ordinance  shall  be  null  and  void,  and 
of  no  effect :  and  when  the  result  of  said  elec- 
tion shall  be  ascertained,  the  Governor  of  the 
State  shall,  by  proclamation,  announce  the 
same. 

MR.  BRECKINRIDGE'S  SPEECH. 

Mr.  President,  I  desire  to  give,  as  briefly  as 
I  can,  a  tew  of  the  reasons  which  have  induced 
me  to  prepare  and  offer  the  ordinance  which 
has  just  been  read.  I  should  be  pained  beyond 
description  if  I  supposed  that  any  candid  and 
loyal  member  of  this  body,  or  any  candid  and 
loyal  citizen  of  this  State,  would  for  a  moment 
suppose  that,  in  offering  this  ordinance  in  refer- 
ence to  a  matter  so  delicate  and  important,  and 
which  the  history  of  this  country  shows  to  be 
so  connected  with  excitement  of  every  kind,  I 
have  any  other  motive  than  the  good  of  the 
commonwealth  of  which  I  am  a  citizen  and 


73 


servant;  or  that  I  am  willing,  at  this  time  of 
general  distress  and  general  anxiety,  when 
questions  so  great  and  vital  are  already  before 
the  people  for  their  disposition,  to  contribute 
in  any  way  to  the  introduction  of  causes  of 
strife  and  division  among  those  who  are  united 
on  the  great  question  of  loyalty.  It  is  precisely 
because  I  wish,  by  all  possible  means,  to  pre- 
vent strife  j  it  is  precisely  because  I  see  division 
before  us,  and  because  I  wish,  if  I  can,  to  avert 
it;  it  is  precisely  because  I  wish  no  disturbing 
element  to  enter  into  the  other  great  contro- 
versies which  now  occupy  us  ;  and,  yet  mote, 
it  is  precisely  because  I  believe  that  just  in 
proportion  as  the  people  of  this  commonwealth 
can  he  brought  to  see,  that  directly  in  the  line 
proposed  by  that  ordinance  is  to  be  found  their 
greatest  prosperity,  and  the  surest  mode  of 
crushing  forever  all  thought  of  detaching  them 
in  any  case  from  the  Union — that  I  have  intro- 
duced it.  No  conviction  rests  more  clearly  on 
my  mind  than  this  ;  and  if,  by  any  feeble  words 
of  mine,  I  can  succeed  in  impressing  on  the 
minds  of  others  this  conviction,  and  induce 
thpm  to  take  up  with  me  this  great  question, 
and  contribute  to  this  great  result,  I  shall  feel 
that  I  have  not  lived  altogether  without  good 
results. 

I  think  I  may  assume,  Mr.  President,  as  a 
settled  thing,  in  the  minds  not  only  of  those 
who  may  agree  with  me  in  whole  or  in  part, 
in  reference  to  the  policy  indicated  by  this 
ordinance,  but  in  the  minds  of  those  who  radi- 
cally differ  with  me  as  to  the  policy  itself,  or 
as  to  the  time  chosen  in  which  to  initiate  it, 
that  the  doom  of  the  institution  of  slavery  is  a 
thing  fixed  in  the  State  of  Missouri.  I  have 
conversed  with  all  the  intelligent  and  thought- 
ful men  whom  I  have  met,  representing  all  old 
parties,  all  shades  of  opinions,  and  all  sections 
of  the  State,  concerning  this  matter,  and  I  have 
yet  to  find  one  man  willing  to  say  that  it  was 
not  his  distinct  conviction  that  the  events  of 
the  last  few  months  had  finally  and  irrevocably 
settled  the  fate  of  slavery  in  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri. I  suppos-e  I  may  treat  that  as  a  settled 
thing.  Many  persons  go  further  yet  than  this, 
and  say  that  the  result  of  this  great  rebellion 
which  has  convulsed  the  nation,  will  be,  neces- 
sarily, sooner  or  later,  to  settle  the  doom  of 
the  institution  throughout  this  broad  continent. 
That,  however,  is  a  matter  aside  from  this 
proposition,  and  not  necessarily  involved  in 
the  questions  I  desire  to  discuss,  and  I  shall  not, 
therefore,  enter  upon  it.  Whether  or  not  it  is 
so  in  regard  to  the  institution  throughout  the 


whole  country,  I  may  assume  for  the  purpose 
of  my  argument  that  it  is  a  settled  thing  in  the 
State  of  Missouri. 

I  may,  perhaps,  add  a  word  or  two  by  way 
of  showing  that,  even  if  it  had  not  been  for 
these  convulsions,  which  have  rocked  the  nation 
to  its  foundations— even  if  the  history  of  the 
last  eighteen  months  had  been  peaceful  and 
prosperous — the  announcement  as  to  the  speedy 
removal  of  slavery  from  Missouri  could,  with 
the  same  confidence,  have  been  made.  Let  us 
see  if  it  is  not  so. 

The  number  of  slaves  actually  removed  from 
the  State,  within  the  last  five  or  ten  years,  has 
constantly  increased  every  year.  The  number 
of  slaves  brought  into  the  State  from  other 
regions,  within  that  time,  has  constantly  de- 
creased every  year,  until,  I  suppose  I  may  say 
with  confidence  that,  within  the  last  five  years, 
not  nearly  enough  slaves  have  been  brought 
into  the  State  to  make  up  for  the  loss  of  those 
removed,  and  this  without  regard  to  the  rapid 
exodus  of  the  last  eighteen  months.  Again,  as 
applied  to  present  circumstances,  how  many 
have  been  removed  from  the  State  within  the 
last  eighteen  months,  the  last  fifteen  months,  or 
within  the  last  year?  I  have  heard  various 
estimates.  We  have  no  statistics  by  which  we 
may  certainly  arrive  at  these  figures.  My 
residence  has  not  been  in  those  portions  of  the 
State  in  which  these  results  would  be  most 
directly  apparent  to  me;  but  I. remember  hav- 
ing heard  a  distinguished  member  of  this  Con- 
vention state,  not  long  ago,  or  to  have  seen  it 
reported  that  he  said  in  public,  that  the  number 
of  slaves  removed  from  Missouri  within  the 
last  eighteen  months,  reached  at  least  fifty  or 
sixty  thousand ;  and  I  remember,  also,  within 
a  day  or  two,  to  have  heard  another  justly  dis- 
tinguished member  of  this  body  say  that,  from 
his  portion  of  the  State  north  of  the  Missouri 
river,  within  the  last  year,  six  thousand  slaves 
had,  in  one  way  or  another,  been  removed  to 
Kansas,  and  thirty  thousand  had  been  taken  by 
their  owners  into  the  South  for  safety.  Now, 
sir,  these  are  immense  results.  Admitting  the 
possibility  that  these  estimates  are  too  high, 
we  have  some  indications  of  the  condition  of 
the  public  mind  which,  in  my  judgment,  im- 
peratively requires  those  charged  with  the  direc. 
tion  of  affairs  to  strive  to  ascertain  some  mode 
by  which  they  may  be  able  to  regulate  and 
control  so  great  and  radical  a  revolution  about 
so  great  an  interest. 

Wise  men  have  said,  Mr.  President,  and  I 
think  with  justice,  that  the  geographical 


tion  of  Missouri,  bounded  on  three  sides  by  free 
territory,  with  all  the  influences  brought  thus 
to  bear  on  it,  is  of  itself  enough  very  speedily 
to  decide  the  matter.  And  more  than  this, 
they  have  said,  and  I  again  think  truly,  that 
the  soil,  climate,  and  productions  of  the  State 
being  all  more  favorable,  for  the  most  part, 
to  free  than  to  slave  labor  —  inviting  con- 
stantly the  competition  of  free  labor — that  the 
interest  of  slaveholders  themselves  would,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years — few,  I  mean,  in 
regard  to  so  great  an  interest — secure  the  re- 
moval of  slaves  from  the  State.  Then,  again, 
a  glance  at  the  statistics  contained  in  the 
census  shows  that  in  1850  the  number  of  slaves 
in  Missouri  was  but  a  fraction  under  90,000, 
and  the  number  of  whites  a  little  less  than 
600,000;  while  the  result  of  the  last  census, 
taken  after  an  interval  of  ten  years,  shows 
that  the  number  of  slaves  had  increased  only 
about  25,000,  bringing  the  number  up  to 
115,000,  while  the  white  population  had  al- 
most doubled  itself,  making  in  round  num- 
bers 1,070,000.  These  figures  certainly  throw 
some  light  on  the  subject.  You  certainly  can- 
not suppose  that  an  institution  of  this  kind, 
increasing  only  at  that  rate,  with  an  over- 
whelmingly greater  increase  on  the  part  of  the 
white  population,  can  be  expected  to  be  left 
alone  and  unquestioned  in  the  midst  of  preju- 
dices which  are  in  many  quarters  so  strong 
against  it,  with  the  general  understanding  that 
it  cannot  long  remain,  and  the  growing  con- 
viction that  while  it  exists  it  retards  the  growth 
and  progress  of  the  State. 

But  passing  this,  it  is  not  a  matter  that 
the  people  of  Missouri  are  able  to  decide, 
nor  is  it  a  matter  that  the  members  of  this 
Convention  are  able  to  decide,  according  to 
their  own  will,  whether  or  not  this  subject  shall 
be  thrust  upon  them.  We  cannot  choose  for 
ourselves  whether  we  will  consider  it  or  not. 
If  it  rested  with  me  to  decide  whether,  at  this 
particular  juncture,  this  question  should  be 
brought  before  the  people  of  Missouri,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  I  should  prefer  silence  upon 
it.  But  it  is  not  a  matter  over  which  t  he  people 
of  Missouri  have  any  control ;  it  is  in  the  minds 
of  all  men  who  have  considered  with  thought- 
ful care  their  duty  to  the  people,  and  presses 
most,  those  who  most  thoroughly  comprehend 
our  great  difficulties  as  applied  to  the  local 
interests  of  Missouri.  Why,  as  to  the  rebellion 
itself — this  monstrous  iniquity,  this  greatest  of 
all  human  wickednesses  since  the  crucifixion 
of  the  Saviour — and  I  do  not  speak  extravagant- 


ly, but  only  the  words  of  sober,  simple  truth — 
many  men  attribute  it  only  to  the  existence  of 
slavery.  Many  men,  and  wise  men,  not  con- 
fined to  northern  localities  and  to  free  soil,  but 
largely  representing  southern  regions  and  slave 
soil,  have  insisted,  and  do  insist,  and  strive  to 
enforce  their  convictions  by  all  the  force  of 
reason  and  argument,  that  this  institution  is  of 
itself  the  cause,  the  only  cause,  of  all  our 
present  woes.  They  have  enforced  it  by  in- 
sisting on  arguments  like  these;  that  wherever 
slavery  exists  there  only  has  rebellion  existed  ; 
that  it  is  a  sine  qua  non  of  even  its  partial  suc- 
cess;  that  wherever  it  has  had  the  greatest 
power,  there  rebellion  has  had  the  greatest 
violence;  that  in  those  regions  where  it  is 
found  most  feeble,  there  treason  has  had  least 
power,  and  rebellion,  or  the  spirit  of  rebellion, 
has  been  most  readily  crushed.  Whether  these 
things  be  true  or  not,  is  not  necessary  for  my 
purpose  to  decide,  and  I  do  not  think  it  profit- 
able to  discuss  this  question  now.  I  may, 
however,  say  that,  in  my  judgment,  they  err 
who  think  it  the  cause  in  any  such  sense  as  to 
exclude  other  most  potent  causes,  for  there 
were  many,  and  they  also  most  surely  err  who 
insist  that  the  rebellion  could  have  exis-ted 
without  it.  Certainly,  however,  we  all  agree 
whatever  our  opinions,  prejudices,  or  pre- 
ferences may  be — whatever  we  may  think  has 
caused  it — that  this  particular  institution  has 
been  made  the  engine,  in  the  hands  t>f  wicked 
and  designing  men,  with  which  to  inflame  and 
excite  the  people,  thus  bringing  them  to  a 
position  in  which  it  was  comparatively  easy 
to  drive  them  into  the  enormous  wickedness  of 
the  rebellion.  This  of  itself  is  enough  to  direct 
public  attention  to  the  subject. 

Again,  the  President  of  the  United  States 
urges  it  upon  the  people  of  the  nation.  Now, 
let  me  say  a  word  in  reference  to  the  President. 
I  did  not  vote  for  the  present  incumbent.  In 
my  poor  way  I  did  what  I  could  to  prevent  his 
election  to  that  high  office.  He  belongs  to  a 
party  to  which  I  am  not  and  never  was  allied. 
He  holds  many  opinions  that  I  never  did  and 
do  not  now  endorse.  But,  sir,  for  the  courage 
— calm  and  yet  true  courage — with  which,  in 
the  midst  of  thronging  difficulties  such  as  have 
never  surrounded  any  other  statesman,  he  has 
conducted  himself  and  sought  to  direct  and 
conduct  this  nation  safely  through  its  fiery 
trials,  he  deserves  the  hearty  approbation  and 
gratitude  of  every  patriotic  citizen.  In  my 
opinion,  we  can  have  no  conception  of  the 
difficulties  that  have  surrounded  him.  Attack- 


75 


ed  suddenly  and  violently  by  the  radical  wing 
of  his  own  section,  who  aided  in  elevating  him 
to  office,  who  sought  to  make  him  the  instru- 
ment of  destroying  the  country,  he  has  with 
manly  courage  withstood  their  efforts,  and 
thus  far  arrested  the  dangers  they  threatened. 
He  has  been  denounced  through  all  the  stages 
of  this  rebellion,  and  vilified  by  ninny  thou- 
sands of  the  people  of  the  South  as  their  great 
enemy,  bent  on  their  destruction  ;  but  he  has 
been  their  great  protector — the  great  break- 
water against  which  the  violent  waves  of 
fanaticism,  madly  rushing,  have  been  cast  back 
harmless. 

And  we  in  the  border  States — we,  who  owe 
our  existence,  who  owe  the  privilege  of  remain- 
ing here  at  all,  under  God,  to  him  and  his 
influence— certainly  we  should  be  the  last  men 
to  speak  evil  words  of  him.  I  can  heartily 
endorse  the  words  spoken  by  that  noble  Border 
State  man  and  patriot,  (Mr.  Crittenden  of  Ken- 
tucky,) who  said  the  President  had  won  his 
heart,  and  that  there  was  reserved  for  him,  in 
case  he  succeeded  in  restraining  the  violence 
of  men  and  restoring  the  country  to  its  unity 
and  prosperity,  a  niche  in  the  temple  of  fame, 
side  by  side  with  those  who  had  been  by  God 
blessed  in  being  able  to  found  this  Government, 
and  with  him  who  was  the  peerless  father  of 
it.  The  work  of  preservation  is  but  little  less 
arduous  and  glorious  than  the  grand  work  of 
creation.  Now,  this  man  to  whom  we  owe  so 
much,  appeals  to  us,  and  to  us  here  and  now, 
just  as  distinctly  as  it'  by  name,  and,  making  no 
selfish  entreaty,  addresses  words  of  earnest 
admonition  and  exhortation  to  us;  and  more 
than  that,  he  shows  by  the  tone,  tenor,  and 
temper  of  his  appeals,  his  earnest  conviction, 
that,  unless  we  act  wisely  in  this  regard  before 
it  is  too  late,  it  may  be  impossible  for  him  to 
avert  from  us  the  troubles  and  dangers  that 
may  come.  It  is  due  to  him,  not  only  because 
of  his  high  office,  but  of  the  manly  merit  shown 
in  that  great  office,  that  we  should  at  least  say 
some  respectful  words  in  answer  to  his  appeal. 
There  is  the  most  touching  pathos  and  earnest 
eloquence  in  the  words  of  that  address  which 
the  President  issued  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  on  the  occasion  of  annulling  that 
wretched  proclamation  of  the  General  com- 
manding on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina,  in 
which— after  revoking  it,  and  so  putting  him- 
self in  a  position  in  which  the  radical  men  of 
the  North  might  denounce  him  (as  they  have 
done  and  are  doing)  as  a  betrayer  of  the  trust 
they  claim  to  have  confided  to  him— after 


taking  that  high  stand,  and  it  requires  a  man 
of  true  courage  to  do  that — there  is,  I  say,  a 
touching  pathos  and  earnest  eloquence  in  his 
appeal  to  the  people  of  the  border  States  to 
consider  this  question.  For  one,  sir,  if  I  had 
not  thought  of  it  before,  I  would  have  con- 
sidered it  my  duty  as  a  good  and  loyal  citizen 
of  these  United  States,  when  the  President's 
words  came  with  so  much  force,  advising  me 
to  take  action  on  this  subject,  to  respond  by  at 
least  giving  to  it  a  calm  and  earnest  consider- 
ation. I  have  done  so,  and  I  give  you  the 
results  of  that  consideration. 

Again,  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
appealing  to  Congress  to  join  him  in  this  mat- 
ter, has  been  sustained  by  Congress,  and  that 
body  by  an  overwhelming  majority — sustained 
and  aided,  I  am  glad  to  know,  by  the  wisdom 
and  statesmanship  of  some  of  the  representa- 
tives of  the  border  States  (and  I  only  regret 
they  were  not  all  able  to  see  their  way  clear  to 
join  in  it) — has  adopted  in  terms  the  resolution 
propounded  by  the  President,  and  has  pledged 
all  the  power  and  all  the  resources  of  the 
Government  to  those  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  in  States  where  the  institution  of 
slavery  prevails,  to  aid  them,  if  they  shall  take 
the  action  indicated  in  it,  by  such  methods  and 
at  such  times  as  seems  best  to  them,  in  bearing 
the  burdens  which  will  no  doubt  come  as  a  re- 
sult of  this  action,  and  "to  compensate  for  the 
inconvenience,  public  and  private,  produced  by 
such  change  of  system."  If  there  were  nothing 
else,  the  question  thus  forced  upon  the  con- 
sideration of  the  country  would  be  so  presented 
that  wise  men  could  not  refuse  to  consider  it, 
whatever  result  they  might  arrive  at  after  con- 
sideration. 

Once  more,  sir,  our  own  unquiet  condition — 
better,  thank  God,  than  it  was  a  year  ago,  but 
still  bad  enough  —  admonishes  us  of  this,  at 
least,  however  men  may  differ  otherwise,  tha 
if  it  is  in  the  heart  of  the  people  of  Mis- 
souri to  do  this  thing — if  it  is  their  purpose 
to  declare  that,  by  some  wise,  just,  and  gra- 
dual plan  they  will  be  rid  of  this  institu- 
tion—  that  then,  even  though  the  rebellion 
should  continue  longer  than  I  suppose  it 
can,  for  it  seems  to  me  to  be  in  the  very 
throes  of  death,  the  mere  announcement  of  the 
purpose  would  be  of  itself  the  greatest  possible 
instrumentality  for  securing  to  us  peace.  For, 
suppose— if  such  a  monstrous  supposition 
could  enter  your  minds — that  the  Government 
of  the  Confederate  States,  so-called,  should  be 
permanently  established  j  and  suppose  that  the 


76 


authorities  there  were  informed  that  the  great 
State  of  Missouri  had  determined  to  rid  itself 
of  the  institution  of  slavery,  does  any  man 
imagine  that  the  Confederacy,  founded,  as  its 
second  officer  said  it  was,  upon  slavery  as  its 
chief  corner-stone,  would  admit  into  the  edifice 
such  an  immense  block  of  granite  as  this  State 
would  be,  with  institutions  utterly  discordant 
with  theirs  in  the  very  particular  they  claim  to 
be  essential?  The  mere  announcement  that 
the  people  of  Missouri  had  initiated  a  plan  by 
which,  in  fifty  years  even,  they  would  emanci- 
pate their  slaves,  would  be  absolutely  final  as 
to  all  ihought  or  desire  on  the  part  of  the  people 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  even  if  it  should 
succeed,  of  securing  our  adhesion  to  it.  And 
then  from  our  borders  would  be  expelled,  if 
not  before,  the  vile  guerrilla  bands,  those  plun- 
dering assassins,  who  deserve  the  speediest  and 
most  condign  punishment  that  can  be  visited 
upon  them,  and  who  daily  carry  misery  to  so 
many  homes. 

If  I  am  right,  Mr.  President,  in  these  things, 
and  I  think  I  am,  this  follows,  that  the  question 
before  us  to-day,  even  if  I  had  not  introduced 
this  ordinance,  is  not  whether  we  will  or  not 
consider  this  great  matter,  but,  being  compelled 
by  the  force  of  circumstances  to  consider  it, 
how  we  will  decide  it.  That  is  the  question, 
and  it  is  one  which  cannot  be  avoided,  whether 
wise  or  unwise — whether  we  like  it  or  not — 
whether  we  think  it  best  or  not — whether  the 
time  is  propitious  or  not — it  is  now  and  here 
pressing  upon  us  for  decision.  Certainly,  sir, 
no  one  who  claims  to  be  worthy  to  represent, 
in  high  discussions  and  in  the  discharge  of  duties 
such  as  ours,  a  great  people,  will  be  guilty  of 
the  folly  of  spending  time  in  deploring  the 
necessity  of  action,  when  it  is  clear  to  his 
comprehension  that  action  only  will  answer. 
The  storm  rages,  whether  we  will  or  not  ;  the 
storm  rages,  and  the  question  is  whether  we 
shall  oppose  to  it  a  feeble  resistance  which 
must  be  fruitless,  and  so  impair  its  force  in  no- 
thing, but  only  become  its  victims  ;  or  wheth- 
er, since  we  cannot  prevent  it,  we  may  by 
wise  counsel  seek  to  direct  and  guide  its  action, 
and  so  avert  from  us  the  fate  which  otherwise 
awaits  us.  The  very  horn-book  of  statesman- 
ship proves  clearly  what  is  wise,  and  what  is 
the  duty  resting  upon  us  in  such  a  case.  The 
very  elements  of  statesmanship  prove  to  us 
that  if  we  would  be  true  to  the  demands  of 
duty,  we  must  take  it  up  and  consider  it  in  the 
light  of  all  the  truth  and  reason  we  can  com- 
mand. My  judgment  is  that  the  decision  is  to 


be  made  by  us,  and  that  the  alternative  is  not 
between  slavery  to  be  perpetuated  indefinitely 
in  the  State  of  Missouri  and  emancipation,  but 
between  emancipation  gradual  and  emancipa- 
tion almost  immediate.  I  do  not  now  speak 
of  any  policy  I  have  of  that  sort.  I  greatly 
regret  that  it  is  so  ;  but  I  speak  now  of  the 
course  of  events — the  actual  state  of  things 
presented,  whether  we  like  it  or  not. 

How,  then,  is  this  state  of  things  to  be  met  ? 
If  I  am  right,  how  is  it  to  be  met,  and  what  is 
it  the  part  of  wise  men  to  do?  There  is  no 
conviction  resting  on  my  mind  more  clear  than 
that  the  interests  mid  the  duty  of  the  people  of 
Missouri  point  imperatively  in  one  direction  j 
that  their  only  wise  policy  is  to  provide  for  the 
gradual  removal  of  the  institution  and  the  sub- 
jects of  it  from  the  State.  Not,  sir,  in  the 
spirit  of  fanaticism  do  I  entertain  these  views. 
I  am  not  much  in  the  habit  of  disavowing 
opinions  which  1  never  held,  (lest,  perchance, 
I  mi&ht  be  suspected  if  silent,)  because  I  have 
supposed  that,  humble  as  has  been  the  course 
of  my  life,  those  who  thought  enough  of  it  to 
consider  it  at  all,  would  know  that  I  have  at 
all  times  allied  my. -elf  with  those  whom  I  be- 
lieved to  be  conservative;  not  in  the  spirit  of 
fanaticism,  for  no  man  deplores  more  than  I 
do  the  reckless,  radical,  unwise,  and  malignant 
spirit  which  so  often  prevails  in  these  discus- 
sions at  the  North,  and  which,  unfortunately, 
just  as  often,  for  years  past,  has  prevailed  at 
the  South,  and  which  there  has  wrought  so 
much  ruin,  even  before  its  last  terrible  results; 
not  in  the  spirit  of  fanaticism;  not  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  negro,  for  I  am  not  influenced  in 
making  this  proposition  by  any  of  the  human- 
itarian notions  of  the  day,  which  prevail  in  so 
many  minds — not  in  the  least.  I  believe  con- 
fidently— joining  still  with  the  men  of  all 
parties,  and  of  all  nations  and  races,  in  de- 
nouncing the  wickedness  of  those  men  who 
ravished  the  ancestors  of  these  people  from 
their  homes  and  brought  them  here,  subjects  of 
barter,  and  to  supply  a  wicked  traffic,  which 
was  made  a  chief  ground  of  complaint  when 
our  revolutionary  fathers  appealed  to  the  civ- 
ilized world  against  the  oppressions  of  Great 
Britain— I  believe  confidently,  the  negro  is 
better  off  in  slavery  here,  than  he  could  be  in 
the  present  generation  if  he  were  free  here  or 
elsewhere.  Not,  then,  as  a  friend  to  the  negro 
— not  out  of  sympathy  with  the  slave — but  as  a 
friend  to  the  white  man,  for  I  love  my  own 
people  better  than  any  other,  and  it  is  because 
I  so  love  them  that  I  desire  to  aid  in  devising 


77 


methods  to  promote  their  interests ;  and  if, 
incidentally,  some  other  people  shall  derive 
some  benefit,  surely  I  shall  not  complain.  The 
real,  decisive  object  with  me  is  the  interest  of 
my  own  race,  my  own  people,  my  own  Gov- 
ernment, and  for  this  I  labor.  Not,  again,  sir, 
by  revolutionary  action  at  all  do  I  seek  it.  If 
I  could  control  it  I  would  not  allow  such  in- 
fluences to  prevail,  but  by  slow  approaches  ; 
not  by  convulsion,  but  by  gentle  means ;  not 
by  advocating  radical  and  reckless  measures, 
but  by  those  gradual,  well  matured,  tested  by 
the  experience  of  other  States,  and  endorsed  by 
the  wisdom  of  the  greatest  statesman  this 
country  has  ever  produced  ;  not  seeking  to 
make  my  views  the  test  of  any  man's  wisdom 
or  loyalty,  for  I  know,  and  I  think  it  would  be 
well  if  many  at  the  North  would  also  know, 
that  many  thousands  of  the  most  efficient., 
most  determined  and  resolute  Union  men  are 
those  who  are  the  most  distinct  in  the  avowal 
of  their  belief  that  this  institution  is  of  itself  a 
great  blessing. 

Again,  sir,  surely  not  by  the  final  action  of 
this  body,  but  by  appealing  through  the  ma- 
chinery provided  by  it,  to  the  people  for  their 
well  considered  judgment  and  deliberate  deter- 
mination. What  are  the  features,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, of  this  plan  set  forth  in  the  ordinance  I 
have  submitted?  First,  sir,  it  proposes — and 
that  may  not  be  necessary  when  taken  in 
connection  with  the  other  features  of  it,  but  I 
have  thought  it  a  wise  precaution  against  those 
nice  legal  and  constitutional  questions  which 
may  arise  to  embarrass  it — it  propo-es  to  sweep 
out  of  the  Constitution  those  clauses  which  it 
contains,  and  which  were  put  there  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  interference  with  this 
institution,  by  providing  for  their  repeal.  It 
proposes  not  to  interfere  with  the  status  of  any 
slave  now  living — not  one.  Let  all,  as  far  as 
J  am  concerned,  who  are  now  living  within  the 
limits  of  the  State,  remain  here,  living  and 
dying  slaves.  I  do  not  propose,  nor  do  I  desire 
to  interfere  with  one  of  them.  It  proposes  to 
apply  itself  only  to  those  born  after  the  first 
of  January,  1865.  I  have  chosen,  sir,  in  draft- 
ing this  ordinance,  that  date.  I  think  it  long 
enough,  but  I  have  no  particular  preference  for 
it.  A  year  or  two  later,  or  even  more,  will 
answer  just  as  well;  and  I  will  state,  in  order 
that  it  may  be  fully  understood,  that  I  have 
desired,  in  presenting  this  plan,  to  present  not 
alone  rny  own  peculiar  views,  but  I  have  sought 
in  it  to  consult  the  judgment,  and,  to  some  ex- 
tent, even  the  prejudices  of  other  conservative 


men.  I  am  not  so  wedded  to  it,  or  any  part  of 
it,  as  to  bo  unwilling  to  adopt  any  modification 
of  it  which  shall  accomplish  the  sane  great 
object  by  even  more  gradual  means. 

But,  as  I  have  stated,  the  day  named  is  the 
first  day  of  January,  1805,  and  even  then  there 
is  to  be  no  change  in  their  condition.  At  the 
end  of  twenty -five  years  to  be  spent  in  slavery, 
they  are  to  be  removed.  They  are  not  to  be 
free  at  all  upon  the  soil  of  Missouri,  and  re- 
main here  a  pest  upon  her  bosom — a  class  ne- 
cessarily inferior  and  depraved.  I  do  not  de- 
sire to  see  any  action  taken  to  increase  the 
number  of  free  negroes,  and  I  would  not.  by 
any  act  of  mine,  add  one  to  that  class  amongst 
us.  It  is  provided  that  on  reaching  that  age, 
they  shall  be  by  the  State  taken  from  the  State, 
the  General  Government  aiding  according  to 
its  pledge,  and  removed  to  some  locality  where, 
perhaps,  in  the  course  of  time,  they  may  be 
able  to  build  up  for  themselves  a  country  and 
a  home.  And  that  is  not  all.  They  are  to  be 
removed  by  the  State  at  the  expense  of  the 
State,  but  only  when  those  who  own  them  have 
been  paid  for  them  their  full  value.  And  yet 
that  is  not  all.  The  whole  plan  in  all  its  parts 
and  in  all  its  details,  is  to  be  submitted  to  the 
people  for  their  final  action  upon  it.  Not  now, 
when  the  public  mind  is  so  occupied  with  other 
and  more  vital  matters — not  now,  when  parties 
might  be  ready  to  make  a  test  of  it  to  divide 
the  people  on  other  most  important  questions — 
not  now,  when  the  State  bleeds  under  the  ter- 
rible strife  that  treason  has  brought  on  her — 
but  two  years,  I  have  said,  or,  if  you  choose, 
four  or  five  years  from  now,  let  it  be  submit- 
ted to  the  people,  when  they  are  to  elect  no  one, 
and  when  a  vote  is  not  to  be  taken  upon  any 
other  matter,  which  mit:ht  divide  and  di-tract 
them.  Then,  calmly,  when  smiling  peace  with 
all  its  blessings  has  returned  to  us,  and  when 
prosperity  shall  have  again  been  restored  to 
this  broad  continent  and  all  its  people,  then,  with 
nothing  to  disturb  or  excite  them,  let  the  people 
in  their  majesty  come  and  decide  for  themselves, 
in  the  light  of  all  the  knowledge  they  can  com- 
mand, this  great  question. 

Mr.  President:  it  seems  tome,  if  any  human 
mind  can  be  willing  to  consider  this  question 
of  emancipation  at  all  this  plan  stripped  of  all 
those  features  which  are  exciting,  must  com- 
mend itself.  If,  under  any  possible  state  of  case, 
any  gentleman  is  willing  this  matter  should  be 
thought  of  at  all,  here  certainly  is  the  way  in 
which  he  can  do  it  without  fear  of  exciting  the 
tender  susceptibilities  of  any  one.  I  have  desir- 


78 


ed,  in  framing  and  submitting  it  to  the  conside- 
ration of  the  Convention,  that  it  should  be  so 
worded  as  to  be  in  all  respects  a  reflex,  as  far  as 
possible,  of  my  own  thoroughly  conservative 
ideas  upon  the  subject,  and  that  no  one  should 
find  in  it  anything  unjust  or  radical. 

Suppose  it  done,  sir.  Suppose  this  ordinance 
adopted  by  this  Convention,  what  remains  as 
the  basis  for  a  party  making  emancipation  its 
leading  idea?  Suppose,  further,  the  people  of 
the  State,  having  the  privilege  given  to  them 
of  deciding  this  matter,  should  decide  in  the 
affirmative,  and  incorporate  in  the  body  of  their 
laws  this  proposition,  what  will  follow  ?  One 
result,  I  think,  I  can  safely  predict,  would  be 
the  cessation  of  all  excitement  on  the  subject. 
What  would  remain  as  food  for  excitement  1 
What  possible  basis  on  which  to  build  up  radi- 
cal movements  ?  Even  during  the  present  ex- 
citement, suppose  the  Convention  should  agree 
with  me  and  adopt  this  proposition,  what  re- 
mains for  those  radical  men  who  are  found 
within  the  limits  of  the  State,  and  who  would 
be  ill  satisfied  with  it,  or  at  least  a  portion  of 
them,  because  not  responding  directly  to  their 
views  ?  There  are  radical  men  in  this  State — 
there  are  those,  it  is  alleged,  who,  though  truly 
loyal,  may  forget,  in  the  prominence  they  give 
to  this  great  matter,  other  most  important  inter- 
ests, and,  perhaps,  would  be  willing  to  divide  the 
loyal  men  of  the  State  on  this  subject ;  but  if 
there  are  such,  I  am  not  of  them.  Let  the  Con- 
vention adopt  this  plan,  and  it  would  be  as  the 
summons  of  death  to  all  improper  agitation,  for 
the  power  to  agitate  the  people  would  be  gone 
in  an  instant.  Suppose  it  done  by  the  Conven- 
tion and  adopted  by  the  people,  will  any  one 
need  to  be  told  the  consequences  ? 

A  tide  of  people  flowing  into  this  State  from 
the  great  States  around  us ;  filling  up  its  wide 
limits,  and  covering  its  broad  and  virgin  acres 
now  lying  waste  by  millions,  and  with  us  ex- 
posing the  rich  mines  of  wealth  that  now  lie 
buried  in  the  earth  neglected  ;  bringing  with 
them  capital  to  develop  all  that  is  not  develop- 
ed, because  the  State  has  been  too  poor  and 
sparsely  settled  to  do  it,  and  supplying  the  place 
of  that  class  of  laborers  who  go  away  from  us. 
And  this  change  so  gradually  and  silently  ef- 
fected that  we  will  know  it  has  been  accom- 
plished only  by  the  grand  resuls  that  follow  it. 

Our  State  debt,  amounting  to  say  twenly-four 
millions,  on  which  now  we  are  unable  to 
pay  the  semi-annual  interest — a  burden  under 
which  we  have  long  struggled,  and  which  now 
crushes  us  to  the  earth — will  become  light  by 


means  of  this  tide  of  immigration,  and  the 
large  increase  of  wealth  and  power  which  they, 
in  coming  to  labor  with  us,  will  give.  Our  pros- 
trate credit  raised,  and  all  that  can  impede  our 
progress  removed,  we  shall  be  launched  again 
on  a  career  of  greatness  such  as  Heaven  rarely 
vouchsafes  to  any  people.  And  then  again, 
consider  our  portion  of  the  National  debt. 
Thousands  of  millions  of  money  would  be  well 
spent,  and  must  be  spent,  sparing  nothing  that 
may  be  necessary  in  restoring  the  unity  of  the 
Government,  and  in  protecting  and  preserving 
its  nationality.  But,  when  it  is  done,  the  peo- 
ple whom  we  represent  will  have  their  portion 
to  pay.  How  are  we  to  do  it  ?  If  we  are  un- 
able to  pay  the  regularly  accruing  interest  on 
a  debt  of  $24,000,000,  how  can  we  on  a  Nation- 
al debt  of  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  mil- 
lions, which  our  debt  may  reach,  assume  our 
portion  of  the  payment1?  It  must  remain  ab- 
solutely unpaid,  or  else  be  wrung  from  our 
hard  necessities.  This  plan  would  add  to.  our 
ability  to  pay,  not  only  our  own  local  State 
burden,  but  would  inevitably  bring  to  us  such 
a  tide  of  prosperity,  that  even  this  great  Na- 
tional burden  would  be  borne  easily  by  our 
people,  and  that,  too,  without  trenching  upon 
the  resources  necessary  for  their  support.  Now, 
this  is  the  grand  result  if  this  proposition  is 
adopted.  If  I  am  mistaken,  I  would  be  glad  to 
have  gentlemen  point  out  where  the  error  lies. 
On  the  other  hand,  sir,  suppose  it  not  done. 
The  same  process  by  which,  according  to  some 
estimates,  fifty  thousand  slaves  have  gone  from 
us  within  a  year,  will  continue,  marked  by  the 
same  sad  features  as  it  progresses,  and  filled 
with  the  same  record  of  outrage,  violence  and 
wrong ;  no  compensation,  not  a  farthing,  but 
too  often  in  the  form  in  which  it  comes,  strip- 
ping the  owner  not  only  of  his  slaves,  but  also 
all  that  he  has,  the  hard  earnings  of  a  life-time 
of  labor ;  no  choice  as  to  time,  means  or  meth- 
od, not  at  all ;  no  gradual  change,  but  a  shock, 
sudden  enough  to  leave  the  deserted  plow  mid- 
way in  the  unfinished  furrow,  and  the  ungath- 
ered  crop  rotting  in  the  field  ;  a  shock  sudden 
enough  to  strip  many  men  of  all  the  means  of 
life;  a  shock  sudden  enough  to  withdraw  im- 
mediately such  a  proportion  of  the  laboring 
classes  as  to  break  down  a  commonwealth  in- 
finitely more  powerful  than  this.  I  do  not  say, 
Mr.  President,  that  I  desire  those  results.  God 
forbid  !  But  I  do  say  that  it  does  not  require 
the  power  of  prophecy  to  say  they  will  ensue. 
Our  credit  then  dead,  our  pecuniary  burdens 
intolerable — our  laborers  in  such  large  numbers 


79 


gone,  and  none  immediately  replacing  them — 
we  would  be  driven  to  that  last  sad  resort  of 
feeble  and  dishonest  States — repudiation. 

Let  no  man  say  I  am  willing  by  side  issues  to 
divide  or  distract  the  Union  party.  I  seek  by 
tin-  only  means  remaining  to  prevent  this  very 
evil  which  I  dread.  The  question,  as  I  have 
said  before,  is  made,  is  here  among  you,  is  in 
the  minds  of  every  man  on  this  floor,  and  in 
the  minds  of  all  the  people,  liefer  it  to  the 
people,  and,  as  I  said  before,  the  reason  for  di- 
vision is  removed,  and  the  possibility  of  radical 
schemes  averted ;  for,  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to 
the  contrary,  nothing  remains  as  a  basis  of  ex- 
citement. 

If  it  may  be  borne  with,  Mr.  President,  I  de- 
sire to  notice  very  briefly  a  few  of  the  objec- 
tions which  I  have  heard,  and  which  come  from 
gentlemen  whose  experience,  and  whose  ability 
and  loyalty  entitle  them  to  high  consideration 
and  respect.  I  desire  to  examine  some  of  these 
objections,  and  to  see,  as  briefly  as  possible, 
whether  in  fact  there  is  any  thing  in  them  wor- 
thy of  serious  thought,  of  force  enough  to  show 
that  the  position  I  have  taken  is  erroneous. 

They  say  we  have  enough  already  to  do. 
That  is  true.  There  never  was  a  people  more 
fully  burdened  with  enough  to  do,  nor  dealing 
with  issues  more  tremendous  than  this,  to-wit : 
the  very  life  of  the  commonwealth  itself.  And 
that  would  be  an  unanswerable  argument,  if 
what  I  have  already  shown  were  not  also  true, 
that  whether  we  will  or  will  not  consider  it,  it 
will  be  thrust  upon  us — it  is  thrust  upon  us 
with  a  power  we  cannot  control  or  resist. 

Again  :  it  is  objected  by  those  who,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  declare  they  would  ap- 
prove it,  that  it  will  create  excitement,  agita- 
tion and  strife  among  Union  men,  and  will 
have  a  bad  effect  also  upon  the  rebels  and  their 
allies  among  us.  I  do  not  believe,  sir,  if  this 
body  will  give  to  the  loyal  people  of  the  State 
the  right  to  pass  on  this  issue,  that  it  will  pro- 
duce any  excitement  at  all.  It  should  not  do 
so,  nor  do  I  believe  the  history  of  any  people 
to  whom  this  question  has  been  thus,  or  in  any 
like  form,  submitted,  will  prove  it. 

It  is  said  it  will  perhaps  excite  the  rebellious 
portion  of  our  people.  It  has  not  been  my 
habit,  Mr.  President,  during  any  part  of  this 
controversy,  to  consider  whether  anything  I 
proposed  to  do,  or  did  do,  would  excite  any 
man  already  sufficiently  excited  to  seek  to  de- 
stroy everything  that  is  valuable  in  our  institu- 
tions, and  drive  us  to  arms  in  its  support.  My 
desire  has  been  not  to  consider  his  liability  to 


excitement  at  all,  but  my  duty  ;  and  I  think 
the  experience  of  this  Convention  and  of  the 
people  of  the  State  has  been,  that  just  in  pro- 
portion as  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  avoid 
doing  what  would  excite  those  already  engaged 
in  treason,  or  sympathizing  with  it,  they  have 
become  still  more  excited.  Letting  them  alone 
is  the  most  exciting  thing  to  them  I  have  seen 
done.  It  is  not  the  part  of  wisdom  or  ol  states- 
manship to  consider  the  wishes  and  desires  of 
those  who  have  already  availed  themselves  of 
every  possible  means  to  gratify  their  evil  desires, 
and  who  scoff  at  our  efforts  to  conciliate  them. 
The  best  mode  of  conciliating  rebels  is  by  the 
demonstration  of  the  power  of  the  Government, 
and  by  force  compelling  submission. 

Again :  I  have  heard  it  suggested  that  this 
proposition,  if  adopted  by  this  Convention  and 
submitted  to  the  people,  would  be  used  to  jus- 
tify the  charge  so  often  made  use  of  heretofore, 
that  the  Union  party  is  abolitionized  or  allied 
to  abolition.  There  could  be  no  more  infamous 
falsehood  announced  concerning  the  over- 
whelming masses  of  our  people,  and  yet  I  think 
I  may  say,  that,  without  any  opinion  on  this 
subject  which  would  justify  the  charge,  there  is 
not  to  be  found  in  the  State  of  Missouri  a  sin- 
gle man  of  marked  loyalty  who  has  not  already 
been  denounced  as  an  Abolitionist,  though, 
in  fact,  as  far  removed  from  that  class  as 
he  is  in  thought  or  sympathy  from  those 
who  prefer  the  charge.  This  charge  has  been 
so  often  and  so  flippantly  made  that  I  have 
come  to  consider  it  as,  perhaps,  the  most  un- 
failing test  of  a  man's  loyalty,  that  he  has  been 
denounced  as  an  Abolitionist.  The  man  who 
has  been  so  successful  in  tempering  his  loyalty 
throughout  this  struggle  as  to  avoid  exciting 
the  hostility  of  this  class  engaged  in  treason, 
and  their  sympathizers,  to  sii'  h  an  extent  as 
not  to  incur  the  application  of  that  epithet,  I 
will  not  say  he  is  not  loyal,  but  I  will  say  his 
loyalty  has,  in  all  probability,  not  borne  any 
very  distinguished  fruits.  They  will  resort, 
whether  you  do  anything  or  nothing,  to  all 
means  of  misrepresentation,  and  will  not  ceaes 
until  treason  dies  within  them,  to  vilify  you,  to 
inflame  the  public  mind  against  you,  and  by 
all  means  mislead.  Will  men  in  these  high 
places  be  influenced,  in  any  degree,  by  such 
follies,  or  modify  their  action  in  any  respect 
upon  such  suggestions  ? 

Again,  sir:  and  this  is  the  reason  I  have 
heard  most  frequently  suggested — a  reason 
which,  it  seems  to  me,  has  the  least  possible 
force — it  is  said  that  five  years  probably,  and 


80 


ten  years  at  any  rate,  under  the  present  rate  of 
progress,  will  accomplish  the  desired  result, 
unaided  by  our  action ;  and  why  not,  therefore, 
await  in  silence  the  simple  lapse  of  time  ? 
Have  gentlemen  fallen  so  much  in  love  with 
recent  processes  that  they  desire  to  continue 
them  ?  Can  it  be  that,  with  these  opinions, 
they  will  deliberately  allow  the  people  to  lose 
absolutely  all  compensation  rather  than  refer  to 
them  the  decision  of  the  question,  and  thus 
give  them  full  opportunity  to  be  reimbursed  ? 
Can  it  be,  that  gentlemen  of  ability  and  expe- 
rience will  be — if  I  may  be  permitted,  with  all 
respect,  to  say  so — so  absolutely  blind  as  to 
prefer  that  the  people,  whom  they  represent, 
and  with  whose  destinies  they  are  so  largely 
charged,  shall,  in  less  than  five  years,  lose  by 
radical  methods,  so  large  a  portion  of  their 
slaves  absolutely,  and  in  a  mode  which  is,  of 
itself,  so  largely  destructive  of  their  interests, 
however  certainly  it  might,  in  the  end,  contri- 
bute to  the  aggregate  wealth  and  prosperity  of 
the  State,  rather  than  entertain  the  proposition 
of  allowing  the  people  themselves  to  decide  the 
question  in  a  way  which  will  avert  all  convul- 
sions and  secure  full  compensation1? 

It  is  said  again,  the  people  want  repose. 
So  they  do,  and  it  will  not  disturb  their  re- 
pose if  they  are  allowed  carefully  to  consider 
and  answer  this  question.  By  which  will  they 
be  most  disturbed,  by  this  method,  or  by  the 
recurrence  at  every  election  for  years  to  come, 
as  the  institution  becomes,  as  it  will,  even  ac- 
cording to  the  opinions  of  the  objectors,  more 
feeble,  of  the  same  questions,  presented  often 
in  the  most  violent  and  radical  manner  ?  And 
if  there  be  no  election,  as  I  believe  is  the  policy 
preferred  by  some  of  the  gentlemen  on  this 
floor,  will  not  the  submission  of  this  question, 
and  the  appointment  of  a  time  some  years 
hence  -for  its  settlement,  have  a  better  effect 
for  quiet,  than  the  knowledge  on  the  part 
of  the  people  that  it  is  to  be  constantly  thrust 
upon  them,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  so 
soon  as  the  polls  are  again  thrown  open  ?  Will 
it  not  be  better  to  fix  a  time  when  they,  in 
their  own  might,  may  settle  it,  than  to  allow 
them  at  every  national  and  State  election,  in 
the  choice  of  every  county  and  township  officer, 
to  be  approached,  consulted  and  canvassed 
about  it,  and,  after  all,  with  no  substantial  re- 
sult? 

Once  more,  I  have  heard  it  suggested,  and 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,  I  saw  it  suggested  within 
a  day  or  two  in  one  of  the  largest  and  most  in- 
fluential papers  of  this  State,  as  a  matter  for 


the  consideration  of  this  body,  that  it  did  not 
possess  the  power  to  adopt  such  a  plan.  I  will 
not  waste  time,  Mr.  President,  in  discussing  a 
question  like  that.  I  mention  it  only  to  show 
that  I  have  not  lost  sight  of  any  of  the  objec- 
tions made.  Surely  no  one  capable  of  the 
simplest  thought  can  candidly  urge  this,  in 
view  of  the  questions  we  have  already  dealt 
with,  and  surely  no  loyal  member  of  this  body 
who  was  one  of  the  majority  which  deposed 
the  fugitive  Jackson,  and  swept  out  of  their 
dishonored  seats  the  members  of  the  General 
As>embly,  can  hesitate  as  to  its  full  power  in 
the  premises.  Our  solemn  votes,  and  the  re- 
cord of  them  made,  settle  beyond  'dispute  our 
estimate  of  our  own  power,  and  that  it  is  all- 
sufficient  for  this  purpose. 

Again,  it  is  objected  that  Ave  were  not  elected 
for  this  purpose.  That  is  true.  But  I  desire 
again  to  ask  gentlemen,  which  one  of  them 
was  elected  for  the  purpose  of  deposing  the 
infamous  Jackson  ?  Which  one  of  them  was 
sent  here  for  the  purpose  of  hurling  out  of 
office  a  traitorous  Legislature  ?  Which  one  of 
them  was  sent  here  to  do  any  of  the  other  acts 
which  now,  and  in  all  our  sessions  since  last 
July,  we  have  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  ? 
We  have  wisely  decided  that  the  proper  mea- 
sure of  our  action  was  just  that  course  which 
we  believed  the  safety  of  the  people  required, 
not  refusing  to  act  because  the  particular  mat- 
ter was  not  distinctly  entrusted  to  us.  Thank 
God  !  these  things  were  done.  Thank  God  !  I, 
in  my  humble  way,  had  an  opportunity  to 
join  in  doing  them ;  and,  indeed,  I  reckon  it  a 
high  honor  to  have  had  that  privilege.  Let 
this  also  be  determined  by  the  same  sound 
rule.  Let  us  decide  to-day  those  things  which 
the  health  of  the  State  absolutely  demands  at 
our  hands.  I  propose  to  you  this  great  ques- 
tion, and  appeal  to  you  by  the  same  argument 
as  that  employed  heretofore  in  other  cases,  for 
some  action  upon  it,  believing  that  it  will  im- 
mensely increase  the  prosperity  of  the  State, 
and  that  the  interest  of  the  people  imperatively 
requires  it  of  you. 

It  is  also  objected  by  some  persons  that  we 
are  not  informed  as  to  the  will  of  the  people 
on  this  subject.  I  ask,  sir,  only  to  be  informed 
of  that  will.  We  have  had  no  authoritative 
expression  of  the  will  of  the  people  of  the  State 
concernintr  the  matter.  Then,  sir,  let  us  have 
it.  Surely  gentlemen  have  not  so  lost  confi- 
dence in  the  people  that  they  are  unwilling 
to  let  them  express  their  will  about)  it ;  and 
surely  no  man  who  will  carefully  think  of  it 


81 


will  complain  of  that  public  servant,  who,  by 
such  a  measure  as  I  have  proposed,  which  so 
carefully  guards  all  the  rights  of  the  people, 
has  merely  chosen  to  allow  him,  as  one  of  the 
people,  to  decide,  so  far  as  may  be  in  his 
power,  what  shall  be  the  issue  of  the  contro- 
versy. 

I  have  heard  it  stated,  also,  and  it  is  worthy 
of  a  moment's  consideration,  that  even  if  adopt- 
ed, the  plan  is  impracticable,  because  it  is  im- 
possible to  make  compensation  for  so  large  and 
valuable  a  species  of  property  as  these  persons 
constitute.    I  think  a  moment's  reflection,  will 
show  that  this  is  not  so.     Remember,  in  the 
first  place,  you  have  the  pledge,  in  the  abstract, 
it  is  true,  but  yet  in  a  form  which  it  must  be 
admitted  the  Government  and  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  will  be  very  slow  to  retract 
or  violate— indeed,   it  is  not  only  binding  in 
good  faith,  but  has,  when  accepted  by  us,  all 
the  power  of  a  contract ;  remember,  you  have 
the  pledge  of  the  resources  of  the  entire  Gov- 
ernment to  enable  you  to  accomplish  this  ob- 
ject ;    still  farther,  remember  the   plan  I  pro- 
pose is  slow  in  its  operation,  that  it  applies  to 
no  living  slave,  but  twenty-five  years  hence 
can  for  the  first  time  work  freedom  for  any 
slave.     Let  the   people  adopt  that  plan,  and 
more  than  twenty-five  years  is  given  ;  twenty- 
seven  years  from  this  date  is  the  time  for  the 
first  slave  to  be  removed  from  the  State  abso- 
lutely, under  the  provisions  of  that  ordinance 
Twenty -seven  years,  sir,  is  the  time;  and 
then  remember  how  large  a  proportion  of  those 
who  are  born  die  before  reaching  twenty  five 
years  of  age,  and  of  those  born  and  not  dying, 
how  many  will  be  removed  to    other  slave 
States ;    not    by   a  rapid   movement,    not  by 
gathering  them  up  in  the  night  and  hurrying 
them  off  in  frantic  haste,  but  with  full  notice 
with  so  long  a  time  for  preparation  as  to  insure 
an  influx  of  other  laborers  to  fill  their  places 
and  to  destroy  all  the  prejudice  of  those  who 
might  not  be  willing  to  relinquish  them  under 
the  compensating  provisions  of  the  ordinance 
and  who  have  thus  full  time  for  their  remova 
to  those  regions  where  the  institution  may  stil 
prevail.    And  finally,   remember    that    thost 
who  reach  this  age  will  reach  it  at  intervals 
not  coming  as  a  burden  upon  the  State  all  a 
once,   or  even  in  any  considerable  number 
and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  ten  or  twenty  thou 
sand  dollars  yearly,  for  a  few  years,  will  be  all 
sufficient  to  compensate  for  every  negro  whose 
owner  can  claim  payment  under  the  provision 
of  this  ordinance. 

6 


I  have  not  ventured  at  all  into  the  field  of 
tatistics,  rich  as  it  is  in  most  convincing  rea- 
ons  for  adopting  this  plan,  if  we  seek  only 
hat  policy  which  will  most  rapidly  increase 
ur  population,  wealth  and  power.  I  have  pur- 
>osely  avoided  this  view  of  the  subject ;  for, 
hile  I  may  suppose  the  members  of  this  Con- 
tention are  as  fully  informed  in  this  respect  as 

am,  1  should  only  weary  them  and  waste 
ime  in  seeking  to  fortify  my  argument  in  this 
way.  To  those  who  are  curious  in  such  mat- 
:ers,  I  commend  a  comparison  of  the  States  of 
Virginia,  Kentucky  and  Missouri  with  New 
York  or  Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and  Illinois,  and 
ask  attention  to  the  wonderfully  rapid  relative 
ncrease  of  the  latter  in  all  the  elements  that 
give  wealth  and  power  to  a  State — the  more 
striking  and  conclusive  when  it  is  remembered 
that  in  each  case  the  advantage  in  all  respects 
was  originally  with  those  which  now  have 
fallen  far  behind.  I  will  not  dwell  on  this  topic, 
but  hurry  to  a  conclusion,  lest  I  abuse  your 
patience. 

I  have  desired  to  present  only  a  few  of  the 
considerations  most  familiar,  and  which  have 
suggested  themselves  to  my  mind  upon  this 
question.  For  I  have  been  satisfied,  not  only 
as  to  this  body,  but  as  to  the  people  of  this 
great  State,  that  however  much  they  may  be 
wedded  to  this  institution ;  however  much  they 
may  desire  to  retain  it,  as  I  know  very  many 
of  our  best  and  most  loyal  men  do,  I  have  been 
satisfied  that  the  simple  logic  of  the  statement 
of  the  case  would  be  conclusive,  provided  it  is 
considered  without  prejudice. 

Let  me  state  it  in  a  word  again  :  Slavery  is 
doomed  in  Missouri.  This  all  admit,  and 
whether  it  be  agreeable  to  us  or  not,  we  have 
no  power  to  alter  the  decree.  The  question 
is  so  variously  presented  that  we  cannot  avoid 
it  if  we  would.  If  we  refuse  ourselves  to  act, 
or  to  let  the  people  act,  its  destruction  will  be 
violent  and  speedy,  not  gradual — as,  by  direct- 
ing, we  may  make  it.  The  too  rapid  removal 
of  so  large  a  part  of  the  labor  and  wealth  of 
the  State,  no  new  labor  immediately  supplying 
its  place,  and  no  compensation  following  its 
removal,  will  be  destructive  of  many  private 
interests,  though  in  the  end  adding  largely  to 
the  aggregate  wealth.  And  finally,  the  way 
is  open  to  avert  the  threatened  evils  by  simply 
asking  the  people  their  will. 

I  have  said  before  that  there  was  no  convic- 
tion resting  more  clearly  upon  my  mind  than 
this,  that  the  interests  of  the  people,  the  wealth 
of  the  people,  the  power  of  the  people,  the  just 


82 


influence  of  this  great  State,  destined  of  itself 
to  be  an  empire,  would  all  be  so  promoted  by 
the  adoption  of  this  proposition,  as  not  only  to 
justify  such  action,  but  to  require  it  of  us  im- 
peratively.    I  did  consider  it,  Mr.  President, 
and  I  do  yet  consider  it  as  great  an  honor  as 
could  be  conferred  upon  me,  that  I  was  by  that 
noble  people,  among  whom  I  live,  designated 
as  one  of  those  to  deliberate  and  act  for  them 
in  this  body  upon  questions  as  vital  as  any 
people  can  ever  commit  to  those  who  represent 
them ;   and   I    thank  them  from  my  inmost 
heart  for  this  high  evidence  of  their  confidence 
and  regard.    I  have  considered  it,  sir,  a  high 
honor  to  be  a  member  of  this  body,  and  while 
in  many  things  it  has  failed  to  go  as  far  as  1 
desired,  or  as  far  as  I  thought  a  wise  policy 
indicated,  it  has  been  in  its  action  so  wise,  and 
has  so  readily  met  great  emergencies,  and  as- 
sumed   great  responsibilities    as    they    have : 
arisen — it  has  proceeded  with  such  manly  dig- 
nity and  calm  resolution  to  the  consideration 
and  decision  of  the   difficult   questions  these 
times  of  trial  have  cast  upon  it,  that  I  do  yet 
consider  it  a  high  honor  to  be  a  member  of  it ; 
and  I  venture  to  say  that  if  this  body  desires 
to  add  one  other  noble  act  to  its  record,  which 
shall  claim  the  admiration  and  the  gratitude 
of  the  people  throughout  the  entire  common- 
wealth, the  way  is  now  easy  and  open.    I  think 
I  have  not  overmuch  ambition,  but  I  am  not 
devoid  of  it,  and  he  is  a  poor  citizen  and  a 
worthless  public  servant  who  has  none.     But  I 
tell  you,  sir,  the  measure  of  my  ambition  would 
be  satisfied  if  here  to-day  I  could  so  link  my- 
self to  such  a  proposition  as  this,  as  that  I 
might  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  it  years 
hence  among  the  people  whom  we  here  repre- 
sent and  serve,  as  one  of  those  who,  however 
humbly,  contributed  to  its  adoption.      Here, 
then,  is  the  sum  of  the  whole  matter.    I  have 
not  dealt  with  statistics ;  I  have  desired  plainly 
to  make  a  few  suggestions  that  seemed  to  me 
to  have  some  weight.    I  have  not  desired,  and 
I  repeat  it  distinctly,  to  introduce  into  this 
body,  at  this  time,  an  issue  which  would  ex- 
cite or  divide  Union  men.    What  I  have  done 
has  been  done,  because  I  desired,  in  my  poor 
way,  to  contribute    what   I   could    to    avert 
the    strife    and  division   which   threaten    us 
on  this  issue,  and  at  the  same  time  promote 
the   best  interest   of    this   great    State.      If 
there  is  any  one  wish  nearer  my  heart  than 
another,  after  the  preservation  of  this  Union, 
it  is  that  the  loyal  people  of  this  great  com- 
monwealth   shall    not   be    divided    and    dis- 


tracted in  their  action;  but  that  they  shall 
labor  together  unitedly  for  the  preservation  of 
the  State.  And  I  give  it  as  my  deliberate 
judgment  that  this,  or  some  such  action,  is  ne- 
cessary to  enable  them  to  do  this.  I  eschew 
all  tests  that  contribute  to  the  building  up  of  a 
party  on  the  single  issue  of  emancipation. 
When  a  candidate  is  presented  for  my  choice, 
the  only  test  I  shall  apply — as  it  is  the  only 
one  I  have  applied  during  these  great  trials — 
is  that  of  thorough,  original,  untainted  loyalty. 
But  I  desire  this  question  to  be  submitted  to 
the  people.  I  wish  to  avoid  all  chance  of  divi- 
sion upon  other  issues,  and  therefore  I  desire 
to  remove  it  from  present  complications,  and 
postpone  its  decision  for  at  least  two  years, 
when  peace  and  prosperity  shall  have  returned  ; 
when  the  perfect  restoration  of  the  Union  shall 
have  crowned  our  present  struggles ;  and  when, 
freed  from  all  embarrassment,  it  may  be  calmly 
and  wisely  considered  and  decided. 

I  have  thus  attempted  to  discharge  what  I 
felt  to  be  my  clear  duty,  and  having  done  this, 
I  leave  to  you,  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen, 
the  responsibility,  I  still  must  share  with  you, 
of  deciding  this  great  question.  It  is  a  respon- 
sibility which  no  wise  man  would  covet,  but 
which  no  wise  man,  no  faithful  public  servant, 
having  it  cast  on  him,  will  endeavor  to  shrink 
from  or  avoid. 

Mr.  HENDERSON  endeavored  to  obtain  the 
floor. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  While  I  dissent 
from  the  views  of  the  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis,  I  do  not  rise  to  give  my  reasons  for 
differing  with  him.  The  agitation  of  this 
question  in  this  State  has  already  caused  more 
trouble  than  the  slaves  are  worth.  In  its  moral 
effects  the  mischief  has  been  almost  incalcula- 
ble, and  the  agitation  of  this  question  affects 
not  only  the  slave  interest  in  the  State,  but 
every  interest,  every  class  of  society,  and  every 
relation  of  life ;  and  involves  so  many  evils,  that 
it  is  our  duty  to  use  all  our  influence,  here  and 
elsewhere,  to  prevent  the  agitation  of  that 
question.  I,  therefore,  for  the  purpose  of 
expressing  my  dissent,  and  for  the  purpose  and 
in  a  manner  to  avoid  agitating  the  question, 
move  that  the  proposition  be  laid  on  the  table. 

Mr.  LONG.  I  reside  in  the  same  county  with 
the  gentleman  who  introduced  this  bill,  and  I 
desire  to  occupy  a  few  moments. 

Mr.  BIRCH.     I  think  that  perhaps 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  motion  to  lay  on  the 
table  is  not  debatable. 

Mr.  BIRCH.     I  ask  a  question  of  privilege  — 


83 


Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  If  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  withdraw  the  motion  temporarily, 
without  yielding  the  floor,  I  will  consent  to 
withdraw  the  motion  for  the  benefit  of  Mr. 
Long,  and  afterwarda  for  Judge  Birch. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  apprehend  the  floor 
cannot  be  disposed  of  in  that  summary  way— 
that  no  gentleman  can  yield  the  floor  for  the 
benefit  of  any  particular  gentleman. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  attach  a  great 
deal  of  importance  to  my  motion,  and  as  the 
gentleman  objects  to  my  yielding  the  floor  to 
any  one,  I  will  now  renew  the  motion. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Now  I  desire  a  word.  I 
have  been  aware  for  some  time  that  this  propo- 
sition would  be  made  in  this  Convention,  and  I 

know  another  thing 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  The  motion  is  not 
debatable. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  appeal  to  the  gentleman 
to  withdraw  his  proposition  until  I  can  make  a 
few  remarks  on  the  proposition,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  agitating  the  question  of  slavery, 
but  for  the  purpose  of  giving  some  facts  in 
relation  to  the  matter,  which  will  allay  agita- 
tion. I  only  ask  it  of  him  as  a  favor. 

Mr.  WILSON.  (Mr.  Rowland  in  the  Chair.) 
I  desire  leave  to  make  a  remark. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  It  was  known  to 
several  individuals  around  me  that  I  desired  to 
get  the  floor  for  the  purpose  of  making  this 
motion.  The  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  (Mr. 
Long)  and  the  gentleman  from  Clinton  (Mr. 
Birch)  applied  to  me,  when  I  got  the  floor,  to 
yield  it  to  them,  for  the  purpose  of  allowing 
them  to  make  some  personal  explanations.  I 
told  them  I  would,  but  as  a  matter  of  course  I 
had  no  right  to  do  so  if  any  gentleman  objected. 
The  gentleman  from  Pike  (Mr.  Henderson) 
insisted  that  I  had  no  right  to  withdraw  it. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Not  at  all.  I  did  not  say 
you  had  no  right  to  withdraw  it,  but  that  you 
had  no  right  to  withdraw  it  in  favor  of  any  one 
member. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  had  no  right  at 
all.  I  was  not  inclined  to  yield  it  to  either  of 
these  gentlemen,  but  they  applied  to  me  to 
allow  them  to  be  heard,  and  I  promised  them 
I  would,  and  I  felt  that  in  good  faith  I  was 
bound  to  do  so.  My  own  feeling  is,  that  nobody 
should  be  heard  upon  this  subject  j  and,  inas- 
much as  gentlemen  around  me  insist  that  I  shal 
not  yield  the  floor  unless  I  yield  finally,  I  now 
insist  on  my  motion. 

Mr.  LONG.  These  Congressmen  have  had 
their  say  in  this  Convention,  and  I  think  their 


constituents  should  have  something  to  say 
also.  But  if  I  am  to  be  gagged  and  put  down 
all  right. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order. 
This  discussion  is  all  out  of  order. 
The  PRESIDENT.  That  is  true,  sir. 
Mr.  HENDERSON.  So  far  as  the  remarks  of 
the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  (  Mr.  Long)  were 
concerned,  I  suppose  they  were  intended  for 
me.  I  have  addressed  this  Convention  but  once 
— yesterday  morning.  I  shall  leave  to-morrow, 
and  shall  not  trouble  the  Convention  hereafter. 
I  am  satisfied  that  I  have  not  attempted  to 
trouble  the  Convention  with  remarks  not 
legitimate  and  proper,  at  any  time ;  but  if  the 
gentleman  insists  upon  his  motion  to  lay  on  the 
table,  he  can  do  so$  but  I  can  tell  him  one 
thing,  that  I  do  not  think  he  subserves  the  true 
interests  of  the  'Union  party  in  making  that 
proposition.  I  think  that  in  all  candor  I  can 
present  reasons  — — 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.     I  do  not  see  the  right  of 
he  gentleman  to  make  this  speech. 
The  PRESIDENT.     This  is  all  out  of  order. 

The  Chair,  however,  would  state 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  must  insist  upon 
my  point  of  order,  that  this  question  is  not 
debatable. 

The  PRESIDENT.  That  is  true,  but  I  make 
this  suggestion  to  the  Convention  as  its  Pres- 
ident. My  position  is  well  known  by  every 
gentleman,  but  I  see  that  this  ordinance  refers 
to  a  resolution  which  passed  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  and  upon  which  my  col- 
league and  myself  voted  in  the  Senate,  and 
also  my  colleague  (Mr.  Hall  of  Randolph)  in 
the  lower  House.  We  return  to  Washington 
to-morrow,  and  I  would  be  very  glad  if  my 
colleague  (Mr.  Henderson)  could  be  heard; 
and  it  might  bo  possible  that  I  would  add  a 
few  words  myself,  if  I  had  the  opportunity. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.     May  I  say  one  word 
with  the  permission  of  the  entire  House  ? 
VOICES.     Object. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  rule  must  be  strictly 
enforced. 

Mr.  BBECKINRIDGE.  I  wish  to  say  it  in  the 
interest  of  the  gentleman  from  Randolph. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  There  is  no  gen- 
tleman in  this  House  whom  I  would  sooner 
accommodate  than  the  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis.  His  courtesy  is  always  uniform ;  but 
I  am  determined  now  to  yield  to  no  one,  and  I 
ask,  and  insist,  that  the  Chair  shall  put  this 
question. 
The  PRESIDENT.  The  rule  shall  be  enforced. 


84 


The  question  is  on  laying  the  main  subject  on 
the  table. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  The  House  will  see 
that  they  are  to  be  denied  the  right  to  discuss 
this  question,  and  I  hope  gentlemen  will  refuse 

to  lay  the  subject 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  gentleman  must  not 
go  into  a  discussion. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  do  not  think  the 
gentleman  from  St.  Louis  (Mr.  Breckinridge) 
would  do  me  a  wilful  injustice,  but  he  is  doing 
me  injustice. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  certainly  intended 
nothing  of  the  kind. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  engaged  to  yield 
the  floor  to  several  gentlemen,  and  the  gentle- 
man from  Pike  (Mr.  Henderson)  objected  to 
my  yielding. 

Mr.  ORR.     Order. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  It  was  then  im- 
possible for  me  to  yield  it  to  those  gentlemen 
to  whom  I  had  agreed  to  yield  it  j  and  I  had 
gentlemen  all  around  me  insisting  that  if  I 
yielded  the  floor  at  all  I  must  yield  it  entirely. 
Mr.  STEWART.  The  regular  order  of  busi- 
ness is  the  report  from  the  Standing  Committee 
on  Military  Affairs.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  COMINGO.     I  ask  that  the  bill  be  read. 
The   Secretary  then  read  the  bill,   and  the 
ayes  and  noes  were  ordered.     The  vote  taken 
and  resulted — ayes  52,  noes  19 — as  follows  : 

Ayes — Messrs.  Allen,  Bass,  Bast,  Birch, 
Bogy,  Brown,  Cayce,  Collier,  Comingo,  Don- 
iphan,  Douglass,  Drake,  Dunn,  Frazer,  Flood, 
Gravelly,  Hall  of  Buchanan,  Hall  of  Randolph, 
Hendricks,  Howell,  Hudgens,  Irwin,  Jamison, 
Johnson,  Kidd,  Long,  Marmaduke,  Mateson, 
McCormack,  McDowell,  McFerran,  Moss, 
Orr,  Phillips,  Pipkin,  Rankin,  Ray,  Ross, 
Rowland,  Shackelford  of  St.  Louis,  Shanklin, 
Sheeley,  Smith  of  Linn,  Waller,  Welch,  Wood- 
son,  Woolfolk,  Van  Buskirk,  Zimmerman,  Mr. 
President— 62. 

Noes — Messrs.  Breckinridge,  Broadhead, 
Bridge,  Busch,  Eitzen,  Henderson,  Hitchcock, 
Holmes,  How,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Leeper,  Linton, 
McClurg,  Meyer,  Pomeroy,  Scott,  Smith  of 
St.  Louis,  Stewart— 19. 

So  the  motion  to  lay  the  bill  on  the  table  was 
agreed  to. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS.  (When  his  name  was 
called.)  For  my  own  part,  I  desire  to  say  thai 
I  think  it  would  be  profitable  to  hear  this  sub- 
ject discussed,  but  in  obedience  to  the  will  oj 
my  constituents  I  vote  aye. 

Mr.  LONG.     (When  his  name  was  called.) 


The  vote  which  we  are  about  to  give  is  one  of 
considerable  importance,  and  I  do  not  feel  dis- 
posed to  vote  unless  I  can  give  my  reasons. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  rule  is  that  no  gen- 
tleman has  the  right,  strictly,  to  explain  his 
vote;  but  it  is  not  generally  observed,  and  I 
have  heretofore  allowed  gentlemen  to  explain 
:heir  votes. 

Mr.  LONG.  May  I  be  permitted  to  explain 
the  reasons  for  my  vote  ? 

The  PRESIDENT.  Yes;  but  in  doing  so  you 
will  not  be  permitted  to  discuss  the  merits  of 
the  question. 

Mr.  LONG.  The  proposition  I  make  to  the 
Convention  is  that  I  will  give  my  reasons,  and 
if  you  don't  like  them  you  can  vote  them  out. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.     I  object. 

The  PRESIDENT.  I  will  submit  this  matter 
to  a  vote  of  the  Convention. 

Mr.  LONG.  I  want  you  to  understand  who 
makes  the  objection.  One  of  our  Congressmen. 

The  vote  was  taken,  and  the  President  in- 
formed Mr.  Long  that  he  could  proceed. 

Mr.  LONG.  Mr.  President,  I  ask  the  in- 
dulgence of  the  Convention  for  a  few  remarks. 
Though  this  is  the  fourth  of  our  sessions,  I 
have  taken  no  part  in  discussing  the  various 
subjects  introduced.  My  views  were  so  fully 
reflected  by  the  speeches  of  members  who  had 
the  ability  to  command  attention,  that,  with  no 
desire  to  thrust  myself  before  the  public,  I 
have  been  a  silent  and  attentive  listener.  But, 
sir,  this  ordinance  strikes  me  as  one  so  im- 
portant, that,  differing  in  a  great  measure  from 
those  who  have  spoken,  I  feel  it  a  duty  I  owe 
to  my  constituents,  as  well  as  to  myself,  that 
in  opposing  its  passage  I  should  place  upon 
record  the  reasons  for  my  opposition  to  it. 

To  my  mind,  sir,  it  is  not  the  question  now 
whether  emancipation  has  become  a  political 
necessity,  nor  even  whether  it  be  one  which 
the  interests  of  our  noble  State  should  encour- 
age. 

I  will,  sir,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  to  the 
gentleman  who  introduced  the  measure,  con- 
cede that  he  is  right ;  that  at  another  time,  and 
under  different  circumstances,  it  would  be  a 
proper  and  most  excellent  measure ;  I  say  I 
will  concede  all  this  for  argument's  sake,  but 
not,  sir,  that  I  really  take  his  view  of  the  sub- 
ject. 

All  history  teaches  us  that  measures  of  this 
kind,  so  suddenly  taken  up  and  carried  out, 
upon  such  a  gigantic  scale,  must  end  in  ruin. 
The  intestine  commotions  of  Mexico,  and  the 
other  South  American  Republics,  are  lessons 


85 


for  us  to  read  carefully,  for  they  speak  but 
too  sadly  and  too  truthfully  of  the  effect  of 
admitting  to  citizenship  numerous  hordes  of  an 
inferior  and  uneducated  class ;  in  all  of  those 
Republics,  political  reasons  are  but  the  pretexts 
which  hide  from  view  the  real  cause — a  war  of 
castes. 

Again,  the  late  lovely  plantations  of  Jamaica, 
St.  Domingo,  and  Martinique,  in  their  aspect 
of  ruin,  when  compared  with  those  of  Cuba  j 
their  liberated  negroes,  starving  in  the  midst  of 
abundance,  when  compared  with  the  condition 
of  the  same  class  in  Cuba,  painfully  teaches 
us  that  by  a  mere  edict  of  law  we  cannot  make 
thrifty  and  industrious  citizens  of  the  freed 
slaves. 

Intending  to  be  brief,  I  shall  not  discuss  the 
causes  why  these  facts  occur;  they  are  facts, 
and  facts  that  cannot  be  controverted. 

Then,  sir,  if  slavery  is  to  have  no  existence 
among  us,  I  can  see  no  reason  why  those  slaves 
when  freed  should  not  be  admitted  to  all  the 
rights  of  citizenship  j  there  may  be  constitu- 
tional objections  in  force  to  prevent  it,  but 
those  objections  can  as  well  be  removed  by  us 
as  those  which  stand  in  the  way  of  their  free- 
dom ;  there  can  be  no  objection  urged  for  their 
emancipation,  which  may  not  as  successfully 
be  invoked  for  their  citizenship.  So  large  and 
so  numerous  a  class  in  our  midst  should  cer- 
tainly not  be  treated  as  a  hostile  class — if,  in 
the  humanitarian  sense,  we  must  regard  them 
as  brothers,  and  whom  it  is  wrong  to  hold  in 
bondage,  let  us  not  stop  half-way  in  our  gen- 
erous course,  but  carry  out  our  views  to  their 
legitimate  consequences.  If  it  be  wrong  to 
hold  these  men  in  bondage,  it  is  wrong  to  hold 
them  politically  in  a  condition  of  serfdom— and 
such  they  are  from  the  mere  fact  that  they  are 
blacks — while  we  uphold  their  ability  to  main- 
tain themselves. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  I  call  the  gentleman  to 
order.  The  gentleman  is  discussing  a  distinct 
proposition,  having  no  connection  with  the 
proposition  introduced  by  my  colleague. 

Mr.  LONG.  I  think  the  gentleman  is  mis- 
taken. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  Convention  has  taken 
from  my  hands  the  power  of  deciding  the  ques- 
tion. 

Mr.  CALHOUN.  Let  the  gentleman  go  on 
and  make  his  remarks.  The  Convention  has 
given  leave. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  He  has,  according 
to  the  rules,  only  the  right  to  make  a  personal 
explanation  of  his  reasons  for  his  vote,  and  not 


to  enter  into  the  merits  of  the  question.  If  we 
open  this  discussion,  we  cannot  in  reason  or 
justice  refuse  this  same  right  to  any  other  indi- 
vidual, and  the  whole  object  of  the  motion  to 
lay  on  the  table  will  be  defeated.  My  object 
in  making  the  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  was 
to  prevent  discussion  of  this  sort,  and  I  now 
urge  the  point  of  order  presented  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  St.  Louis. 

The  PRESIDENT.     The   Convention  having 

taken  the  matter  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the 

!  Chair,  I  will  again  submit  the  question  to  the 

Convention,  whether  the  gentleman  shall  have 

leave  to  proceed. 

The  question  was  put  and  negatived. 
Mr.  HENDERSON.    I  now  move  that  the  gen- 
tleman have  leave  to  publish  his  speech  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  Convention. 
The  motion  was  agreed  to. 
Mr.  SMITH.     (When  his  name  was  called.) 
In  explanation  of  my  vote,  I  wish  to  say  this, 
that  a  proposition  of  the  importance  of  the  one 
now  submitted  should  not  be  treated  in  this 
way.     I  therefore  vote  no. 

Mr.  STEWART.  Can  I  read  my  report  as 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Af- 
fairs 1  (Laughter.) 

The  remainder  of  Mr.  Long's  speech  is  as 
follows  : 

Mr.  LONG.    We  cling  to  the  right  of  self- 
government;  the  Abolitionist,  it  is  true,  will 
assert  that  in  this  view  there  is  inconsistency  ; 
because,   while  our  laws  tolerate   individual 
emancipation,  still  they  don't  give  them  citi- 
zenship; but,  then,   while  slavery  exists,  the 
I  black  is  a  member  of  a  caste,  and  as  such  can- 
i  not  rise  beyond  a  privileged  condition  of  serf- 
dom, or,  if  you  please,  a  limited  right  of  citi- 
zenship. 

We  slaveholders  recognize  a  distinction  be- 
tween the  black  and  the  white  man,  but  the 
Abolitionists  do  not;  when,  therefore,  the  black 
is  emancipated,  he  still  retains  his  caste,  though 
he  has  enlarged  his  privileges  ;  but  in  the  free 
I  States,  he  is  a  citizen  to  vote,  but  not  to  hold 
•  office  ;  he  is  in  law  the  equal  of  the  white  man, 
!  and  yet,  though  no  caste  as  such,  he  is  not  the 
|  equal  of  his  whije  fellow-citizen,  although  in 
I  those  States  the  reason  of  the  distinction  made 
j  in  slave  States  has  no  force. 

But,  sir,  I  have  wandered  from  the  line  of 
argument  I  had  prescribed  to  myself;  I  said 
;  in  the  outset  that  I  would,  for  the  purposes  of 
this  discussion,  concede  the  intrinsic  policy  of 
the  measure ;  but  in  the  times  and  circum- 
stances under  which  we  live,  the  mournful 


86 


consequences  of  our  neglect  of  the  sage  exam- 
ples embodied  in  Washington's  farewell  ad- 
dress, we  have  most  excellent  reasons  not  to 
pursue  this  measure. 

When  this  war  commenced  I  boldly  took 
my  position  as  an  unconditional  Union  man ;  to 
that  position  I,  to-day,  most  tenaciously  ad- 
here ;  I  am  not  a  Unionist  on  the  condition  of 
the  terms  dictated  by  the  South — "  the  exten- 
sion of  slave  territory,  re-opening  of  the  slave 
trade,  and  the  right  of  secession ;  "  nor,  on  the 
other  hand,  like  those  Northern  Abolitionists, 
who  believe  the  Constitution  to  be  a  "  league 
with  Hell,"  and  who  will  sustain  the  Union  and 
the  Constitution  only  upon  the  condition  that 
slavery  shall  be  blotted  out  in  our  country.  I 
am  for  the  Constitution  as  our  forefathers 
framed  it,  without  a  t  crossed  or  an  i  dotted — 
just  as  they  framed  it  for  us — to  it  I  uncondi- 
tionally pledge  my  fealty ;  though,  in  the 
course  of  human  events,  that  under  its  benign 
influence  all  the  States  may  become  free  or  all 
become  slave,  still  I  will  cling  to  it  and  the 
glorious  old  Union,  its  synonym. 

Washington,  in  his  farewell  address,  told  us: 
"  It  is  of  infinite  moment  that  you  should  pro- 
perly estimate  the  immense  value  of  your 
national  Union ;  you  should  cherish  a  cordial 
attachment  to  it;  accustoming  yourselves  to 
think  and  speak  of  it  as  the  palladium  of  your 
political  safety  and  prosperity  ;  watching  for 
its  preservation  with  jealous  anxiety ;  discoun- 
tenancing whatever  may  suggest  even  a  sus- 
picion that  it  can,  in  any  event,  be  abandoned, 
and  indignantly  frowning  upon  the  first  dawn- 
ing of  any  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of 
our  country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the 
sacred  ties  which  now  link  together  the  various 
parts." 

Sir,  who  can  turn  to  our  political  history  of 
the  past  few  years,  and  not  see  how  by  the  fury 
and  fanaticism  of  the  Northern  Abolitionists — 
the  South — the  impulsive  South — has  been 
lashed  into  frenzy,  under  the  influence  of  art- 
ful Southern  leaders,  and  her  designing  poli- 
tical demagogues.  The  attempt  to  alienate,  to 
enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  bind  together 
the  various  parts,  I  honestly  believe  had  its 
origin  in  the  Northern  pulpits ;  the  people  be- 
came converts  to  the  fanatical  doctrines — their 
representatives  in  Congress  were  of  the  same 
stamp,  and  soon  the  result  became  apparent  ; 
the  Websters,  the  Clays,  the  Bentons,  the 
Crittendens — those  lingering  relics  of  a  race  of 
mental  giants,  who  had  for  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury upheld  the  noble  fabric  of  our  good 


Government— saw  themselves  supplanted  in 
the  popular  mind  by  the  Davises,  the  Floyds, 
the  Lovejoys,  the  Sumners — the  political  pig- 
mies, who,  to  rule  would  ruin. 

For  several  years  we  have  had,  I  like  to  have 
said,  two  nations  on  the  floors  of  Congress — 
the  North  and  South — and  dull  was  the  vision 
of  him  who  could  not  see  it  must  soon  culmi- 
nate in  an  attempt  at  separation  and  bloodshed. 
That  fearful  hour  came,  and  when  it  did  come 
I  was  an  unconditional  Unionist ;  but  as  some 
would  have  it,  (who  never  possessed  an  idea 
beyond  the  set  and  hackneyed  phrases  of  their 
secession  vocabulary,)  a  "submission  1st,''  "co- 
ercionist,"  "abolitionist."  I  saw  that  the 
South  had  been  irritated,  it  is  true  ;  but  I  saw 
no  justification  for  secession ;  still  less  do  I  now 
see  any  good  to  result  from  their  wild  specula- 
tions of  a  separation. 

If  the  ties  of  common  brotherhood,  if  the 
flag  of  a  common  nationality,  could  not  bind  us 
together  and  protect  the  South,  how  much  more 
forlorn  her  position,  when  the  embittered  feud 
of  a  civil  war  should  have  rent  them,  and  the 
Abolitionists,  without  a  constitutional  restraint, 
were  knocking  at  the  very  doors  of  the  slave 
States!  In  that  hour  I  felt  more  than  ever  the  im- 
portance of  the  Union:  and  when  war  broke  out, 
my  cry  was  then,  as  it  is  now — the  maintenance  of 
the  Government — its  preservation  at  all  hazards — 
it  must  be  asserted  by  force.  But  that  was  to  be  a 
constitutional  war — not  a  NIGGER  WAR.  And 
though,  in  its  short  existence,  the  Constitution 
may  have  been  violated,  as  charged,  I  give  to 
the  President  an  honest  intention,  that,  with  no 
love  of  absolute  power,  no  desire  of  self-aggran- 
dizement, and  no  wish  to  build  a  throne  upon 
the  liberties  of  his  country, — the  infractions  of 
the  Constitution  in  his  heart  he  has  regretted  as 
much  as  any  patriot  in  the  land,  and  has  ac- 
ceded to  them  only  in  the  belief  that  for  nations 
as  for  individuals,  "necessity  knoivs  no  law," 
or,  to  quote  the  motto  of  our  own  State,  "  the 
safety  of  the  people  is  the  supreme  law."  I  be- 
lieve he  was  guided  by  an  honest  heart. 

I  did  not  vote  for  President  Lincoln;  but 
when  I  know  that  he  was  constitutionally 
elected,  and  that  he  administers  the  affairs  of 
the  Government  with  an  eye  singly  to  her 
safety  and  prosperity,  I  believe  all  good  and 
law-abiding  citizens  of  the  United  States  should 
aid  and  support  him.  Now,  sir,  taking  these 
views  of  the  subject,  what  can  be  more  inop- 
portune, or  more  ill-advised,  than  the  agitation 
of  the  subject  of  this  ordinance  ?  Why  stir  up 
the  old  feud  of  dissatisfaction  and  discontent  ? 


87 


How  many  thousands  in  the  South  there  are 
who  have  taken  up  arms  simply  in  the  belief 
that  they  could  no  longer  safely  remain  under 
the  protecting  shield  of  our  Government  ?  How 
many  have  been  spurred  on  to  arm  themselves 
against  us  by  the  argument  that  the  prepon- 
derance of  free  States  would  soon  enable  them 
to  change  the  Constitution  so  as  to  permit 
Congressional  interference  with  slavery  in  the 
States.  And  I  submit  if  the  passage  of  this  or- 
dinance does  not  add  fuel  to  the  fire ;  for,  if  all 
the  border  States  are  to  be  made  free,  the  re- 
quired numerical  constitutional  majority  would 
at  once  be  secured ;  what  interest,  then,  has  the 
South  to  return  ?  What  value  would  her  plan- 
tations possess  if  left  to  the  thrift  and  industry 
of  freed  negroes  ?  If  the  North — and  by  the 
North  I  mean  the  abolition  portion  of  the  coun- 
try— be  so  hostile  in  her  regard  that  it  chafes 
under  every  constitutional  restraint  in  its 
eagerness  to  ruin  the  South,  what  would  be 
the  measure  of  misery  if  the  North  were  com- 
plete masters  of  the  re-construction  ? 

These  questions,  sir,  are  earnestly  asked  for 
myself  and  those  like  me,  who,  even  at  this  late 
day,  hope  for  the  restoration  of  the  Union. 

When  I  look  out  upon  the  terrible  condition 
of  our  unhappy  country,  and  see  a  million  of 
brothers  arrayed  in  arms,  and  think  of  the 
numbers  that  have  already  been  slain,  the 
thousands  of  wounded,  languishing  and  dying, 
their  mothers,  widows  and  orphans  left  a  prey 
to  sorrow  and  want,  my  heart  would  fail  me, 
but  for  the  confidence  that  God,  who  has  so 
signally  protected  our  destinies,  holds  even 
nations  in  the  palm  of  his  hand.  But  I  would 
do  naught  to  aggravate  the  difficulties  of  the 
hour.  I  am  in  favor  of  prosecuting  the  war 
vigorously,  until  the  enemies  of  their  country 
shall  lay  down  their  arms,  until  the  last  rebel 
is  driven  to  the  wall.  Not  that  it  be  waged  in 
a  spirit  of  subjugation,  but  for  constitutional 
purposes — the  restoration  of  the  Union  as  it 
was  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  most  gigan- 
tic rebellion  of  ancient  and  modern  times.  I 
am  the  reverse  of  that  Senator,  who,  but  a  fort- 
night ago,  indignant  at  the  President's  change 
in  Gen.  Hunter's  pronunciamento,  would  with- 
hold supplies  until  he  could  know  the  purposes 
of  the  war;  he  appreciated  it  as  a  "negro 
war ; "  he  would  wage  it  with  only  one  pur- 
pose— the  extinction  of  slavery, 

Sir,  the  patriotism  of  such  men  is  of  but 
little  value  ;  their  acts  need  only  be  mentioned 
to  be  despised  ;  he  is  one  of  the  same  class  who 
swore  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 


States,  and  then  declared  in  his  place  in  Con- 
gress that  "it  was  a  league  with  Hell."  But, 
sir,  I  think  it  would  be  more  creditable  in  us 
to  more  bountifully  feed  our  toiling  soldiers, 
give  all  possible  relief  to  the  wounded,  contri- 
bute to  the  mourning  widow  and  her  helpless 
orphans,  than  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  Aboli- 
tion members  of  Congress,  spending  our  time 
and  the  people's  money  upon  the  everlasting 
and  damnable  negro  question.  I  have  no  allusion 
to  Missouri  Senators  or  Representatives.  It 
was  a  wily  act  of  the  Abolitionists  before  the 
election  to  consent  to  the  separation  of  the 
South — to  oppose  coercion,  and  war  even,  for 
the  reintegration  of  the  Union  ;  that  the  South 
might  take  the  terrible  leap,  in  the  belief  that 
it  would  do  so  unmolested.  They  hoped  that 
in  the  civil  war  to  follow  would  come  the  long- 
desired  opportunity  of  achieving  the  ruin  of 
the  South.  They  raised  men  and  means  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  while  I  rallied 
to  the  call  of  the  President,  I  was  not  misled 
as  to  the  motives  of  the  Abolitionists.  Thus 
far  they  have  been  foiled ;  the  President  has 
firmly  met  them — first,  by  the  resolution1  of  aid 
to  the  State — it  was  but  a  tub  to  the  whale,  for 
it  wrung  from  them  the  admission  of  the  con- 
stitutional rights  of  the  slave  over  the  subject. 
If,  then,  this  war  be  one  for  the  Constitution 
and  the  Union,  should  not  party  politics  be  set 
aside  and  every  test  excluded  other  than  that 
of  loyalty  ? 

What  need  is  there  of  haste  in  this  matter  of 
emancipation  ?  What  reason  exists  that  at 
this  particular  moment  the  measure  must  be 
thrust  forward  to  divide  and  distract  the  friends 
of  the  Union  ?  Why  at  this  solemn  moment 
of  the  nation's  crisis  are  party  measures  to  be 
invoked  to  weaken,  perhaps  to  destroy  ?  Let 
us  but  open  the  door  to  this  piece  of  mischief, 
and  others  of  a  more  ruinous  character  will  slip 
in  before  you  can  shut  it. 

The  Abolitionists  in  Congress  remind  me  of 
the  heartless,  soulless  contractor  who  was  im- 
mortalized only  by  the  eloquence  of  Patrick 
Henry,  whose  cry  was  Beef !  Beef ! !  Beef ! ! ! 
when  his  country  was  most  cruelly  exercised  j 
and  so  those  Congress  fanatics  of  one  idea,  in 
the  darkest  hour  of  our  country's  distress,  think 
politics  of  more  value  than  patriotism ;  and  for 
the  opportunity  of  fomenting  fanaticism  would 
forever  blight  the  fairest  land  beneath  the  sun- 
Our  fields  are  lying  waste  for  laborers — homes  of 
plenty  and  peace  are  households  of  mourning  : 

"  Where  peace  and  smiling  plenty  reigned, 
Bleak  wastes  and  dreary  ruins  now  axe  seen." 


88 


And  at  this  moment,  as  if  to  drive  our  peo- 
ple to  the  frenzy  of  desperation,  my  friend 
here  proposes  this  measure. 

Are  our  loyal  people  to  be  robbed  of  their 
slaves  ?  or  are  they  to  be  paid  for  them  ?  If 
paid  by  Congress  in  the  munificence  of  the  late 
act  concerning  the  District  of  Columbia,  we 
can  see  what  awaits  us  ;  if  by  the  State,  in  our 
desolate  homesteads  and  shattered  public  cre- 
dit, we  can  count  the  pay  /  in  either  case,  don't 
let  us  enhance  our  misery  by  an  inundation  of 
lazy  and  worthless  free  negroes,  who  would 
only  eat  out  our  substance. 

Sir,  I  am  a  slaveholder  myself,  and  will  give 
my  few  darkies  up  to-morrow,  without  a  penny, 
if  my  neighbors  will  do  so  too;  and  provided  you 
shall  have  a  home  for  them  outside  of  Missouri ; 
but  what  provision  have  the  friends  of  this 
measure  made  for  the  emancipated  negroes  ? 
We  should  never  catch  up  our  hogs  to  fatten 
until  the  pen  is  made  to  receive  them.  Is  it 
claimed  that  Missouri  negroes  will  be  better  off 
free  than  as  slaves  ?  Well,  where  will  they  go  ? 
Not  to  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  or  the  north- 
eastern States,  for  they  have  laws  prohibiting 
their  introduction  there.  The  slaves,  whilst 
running  away  from  their  masters,  may  be  con- 
cealed for  a  time,  or  assisted  in  their  flight  to 
happy  Canada;  but  if  manumitted  orfreed"hy  any 
process  of  law,  they  must  go  somewhere  else. 

But,  sir,  the  fact  of  my  owning  a  few  slaves, 
and  that  my  individual  rights  are  about  to  be 
infringed,  does  not  rule  my  actions  here.  I  am 
not  legislating  for  myself,  but  for  those  who 
sent  me ;  and  their  rights,  under  my  oath,  I 
hold  sacred. 

Sir,  these  remarks  may  win  for  me  the  title 
of  a  secessionist  ( I  hope  not — I  would  as  soon 
be  called  an  abolitionist)  from  some  of  those 
who  so  flippantly  appreciate  true  patriotism ; 
they  prefer  party  to  their  country.  Such  men 
may  attack  me,  and  may  blame  me  that  I  have 
had  no  words  of  censure  for  the  rebels,  nor 
praise  for  the  noble  heroes  whose  courage  on 
the  battle-field  protects  our  flag. 

Sir,  it  is  no  time  for  buncombe  speeches — our 
soldiers  will  take  care  of  the  enemies  in  the 
field ;  let  us  attend  to  those  nearer  home  ;  and 
when  we  watch  these  we  render  to  our  brave 
soldiers  a  pre-eminent  service,  for  they  have 
not  enlisted  in  this  war  to  peril  life  for  the  negro, 
but  for  the  Constitution;  and  we  lighten  their 
work,  simplify  the  difficulties  in  their  path — at 
the  same  time  encourage  them  by  the  thought 
that  their  country  is  as  true  to  them  as  they 
have  been  true  to  it. 


If  gradual  emancipation  be  intended,  then 
there  is  no  hurry,  not  even  the  shadow  of  an 
excuse  for  its  agitation  now.  Wait  till  the 
hoped-for  day  of  peace  returns ;  wait  till  the 
glorious  sun  of  liberty,  breaking  through  the 
dark  clouds  which  now  veil  from  us  the  glori- 
ous future,  shall  shed  new  lustre  on  every  star 
of  our  constellation,  and  we  are  regenerated  by 
the  trial ;  wait  till  we  resume  our  place  in  the 
family  of  nations  as  the  model  Republic;  yes, 
sir,  wait  till  the  gloomy  clouds  now  hovering 
over  the  South  open,  and  the  angel  of  liberty 
descends,  drops  upon  a  McClellan's  or  a  Hal- 
leek's  brow  the  wreath  of  final  victory,  and 
stamps  again  on  American  Freedom  "  the  seal 
of  Omnipotence." 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  move  to  recon- 
sider the  motion  to  lay  on  the  table,  and  move 
to  lay  that  motion  on  the  table. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

MILITARY   REPORT. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  desire  to  present  a  report 
from  the  Military  Committee. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  object,  as  it  is 
not  a  report  of  the  Military  Committee.  That 
committee  has  not  been  consulted. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  say  it  is.  I  make  the  re- 
port as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military 
Affairs.  You  can  make  your  report  at  Wash- 
ington. 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  report,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  In  all  governmental  affairs,  wherein  our  na- 
tionality is  involved,  the  State  Government  is 
subordinate  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  Therefore  the  exercise  of  all  govern- 
mental functions,  whether  civil  or  military, 
must  be  exercised  with  reference  to  the  Su- 
preme authority  of  the  Federal  Government. 

"  Be  we  citizens  of  whatever  State  we  may, 
we  are  known  to  other  nations  only  as  citizens 
of  the  United  States  of  America.  The  native 
of  another  country  transfers  his  allegiance  to 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  although, 
in  a  subordinate  sense,  he  must  also  be  a 
citizen  of  some  State,  and  in  his  future  life  he 
looks  to  the  national  and  not  to  a  State  flag 
for  protection.  Divested  of  a  national  govern- 
ment our  condition  would  be  that  of  political 
orphans,  without  nationality  or  national  pro- 
tection. The  people  of  a  State  in  seeking  to 
cast  off  their  allegiance  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, attempt  to  sever  their  most  important 
and  paramount  governmental  relation,  and  they 
are  thereby  guilty  of  the  highest  political  of- 


89 


fence  known  to  the  civilized  world.  For  this 
crime  the  loyal  citizens  of  this  State,  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  their  original  sovereignty,  within 
State  jurisdiction,  deprived  of  their  offices  men 
•whom  they  had  previously  elected  to  places  of 
trust.  And  only  while  this  body  of  delegates 
continued  to  exhibit  in  their  official  capacity  a 
spirit  of  loyalty  will  the  people  tolerate  their 
official  acts,  or  if  they  have  not  the  physical 
power  to  enforce  obedience  to  Federal  author- 
ity, such  obedience  will  be  enforced  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States- 

"  The  present  civil  strife  in  Missouri  is  an 
incident  only  in  a  grand  scheme  of  rebel- 
lion against  the  authority  of  the  United  States, 
whose  duty  it  is,  with  the  help  of  the  loyal  citi- 
zens of  this  State,  to  suppress  it  everywhere. 
The  State  of  Missouri  is  not  in  a  condition, 
financially,  to  sustain  a  military  force,  and  a 
distinctive  military  organization  for  service  in 
subduing  the  rebellion  can  be  desirable  only 
because  our  citizens  would  prefer  to  serve  in 
the  protection  of  their  own  homes — their  sup- 
port by  the  Federal  Government  being  both  a 
necessity  and  its  duty.  It  is  believed  that  any 
additional  force,  organized  under  the  law  or- 
dained by  this  body,  is  unnecessary  and  unde- 
sirable ;  that  if  any  further  .enlistments  are  re- 
quired of  this  State,  except  to  keeep  the  ranks 
of  regiments  already  organized  full,  they  ought 
to  be  made  in  conformity  -with  the  laws  of  Con- 
gress ;  that  the  people  of  Missouri  ought,  with 
alacrity,  to  cast  their  lot  and  make  a  com- 
mon cause  with  all  who  are  laboring  to  sus- 
tain the  authority  of  the  Federal  Government, 
relying  upon  that  Government,  in  common 
with  others,  for  defence  and  protection. 

"  It  is  believed  further,  that  all  other  interests 
should  yield  to  the  one  grand  desideratum  of 
re-establishing  the  authority  and  enforcing  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  throughout  its  entire 
rightful  domain  ;  that  the  special  interests  for 
the  better  security  of  which  the  rebellion  was 
professedly  inaugurated,  cannot  be  more  seri- 
ously damaged  by  measures  necessary  for  its 
suppression  than  it  has  been  by  its  direct  influ- 
ence, and  should  take  its  chances  with  others. 
That  having  become  under  the  operations  of 
the  rebellion  a  minor  and  comparatively  insig- 
nificant interest  in  our  State,  its  extinction 
should  be  cheerfully  acquiesced  in,  if  that  be 
the  readiest  way  of  restoring  order  and  quiet. 
The  whole  people  should  not  long  submit  to 
all  the  perils  of  civil  war  to  gratify  a  few,  espe 
daily  when  that  few  are  themselves  being  injur- 
ed and  even  ruined  by  their  own  wicked  policy. 


"  In  view  of  all  the  facts,  it  is  believed  that 
no  change  of  military  laws  of  this  State  is 
needed;  that  the  power  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment is  adequate  to  the  task  if  there  be  neces- 
sity for  additional  military  forces  to  quiet  the 
civil  discord  in  our  midst,  and  should  be  re- 
lied on;  that  the  Convention  need  only  to 
make  provision  for  the  maintenance  of  the  civil 
government,  with  due  regard  to  the  paramount 
allegiance  which  every  citizen  owes  to  the  gov- 
ernment, and  a  proper  representation  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  that  laws 
enacted  for  this  purpose  should  exclude  from 
the  ballot-box  and  all  official  positions  all  of 
whose  enmity  to  the  Federal  Government  there 
is  sufficient  proof;  that  this  is  the  only  work 
which  the  public  exigencies  demand  of  this 
body.  All  men,  native-born  or  naturalized, 
have  equal  rights. 

K.  M.  SHE  WART,  Chairman." 

Mr.  McFERRAN.    I  move  to  refer  that  report 
to  the  Military  Committee. 
The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

A   QUESTION    OF   PRIVILEGE. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  If  there  is  nothing  before  the 
committee  of  a  legislative  nature,  I  wish  to  ask 
the  privilege  of  the  committee  to  make  a  few 
remarks. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  suggest  to  the 
gentleman  that  the  President,  the  gentleman 
from  Pike,  (Mr  Henderson,)  and  myself,  expect 
to  leave  to-morrow.  There  are  several  special 
orders  now  pending,  and  we  would  like  very 
much  to  dispose  of  such  business  as  can  be 
disposed  of  to-day.  If  it  would  suit  the  gen- 
tleman as  well  to  postpone  his  question  of  priv- 
ilege for  a  time  it  would  be  very  acceptable. 
I  do  not  object,  however. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  will  simply  state  that  I  have 
prepared  my  manuscript,  and  the  reading  of  it 
will  not  occupy  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes. 

No  further  objection  was  made. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  rise,  Mr.  President,  simply  to 
a  question  of  privilege.  The  notoriety  of  the 
reasons  which  detained  me  from  my  seat  in  this 
body  until  yesterday  evening  render  it  necessa- 
ry, perhaps,  that  I  should  submit  a  few  remarks, 
in  virtue  of  my  relation  and  duty  as  a  member, 
and  as  constituting  the  only  commentary  which 
I  shall  probably  deem  necessary,  whether  here 
or  elsewhere,  in  respect  to  my  arrest  and  de- 
tention during  the  past  week. 


90 


As  I  shall  not  abuse  that  privilege,  and  as  my 
health,  withal,  (my  mere  mental  tone,  perhaps, 
seems, )  somehow  strangely  different  to  what  I 
have  felt  it  to  be  in  the  past,  my  remarks  will 
be  comparatively  brief,  but  I  trust  to  the  point. 
Having  within  the  last  week  realized  more  of 
what  may  be  denominated  the  undiscriminating 
blindness  of  ambitious  or  of  civil  war  than  I 
had  ever  been  able  to  bring  home  to  myself 
from  merely  reading  of  its  incidents,  I  am  by 
no  means  certain  that  what  I  shall  say  in  con- 
nexion with  that  experience  will  be  as  interest- 
ing to  others  as  it  has  been  unpleasant  to  my- 
self, or  that  I  shall  be  able  to  so  present  it  as  to 
avoid  even  legitimate  criticism.  I  but  repeat, 
therefore,  that  I  shall  at  least  be  brief,  and  pray 
indulgence  accordingly. 

I  have  not  condescended  elsewhere  to  argue 
the  question  of  my  "loyalty,"  nor  is  it  neces- 
sary here.  My  association  with  you  has  been 
at  least  ingenuous  and  unreserved — your  re- 
cords and  my  records  are  public  property  and 
public  testimony — and  I  have  stood  since  I  last 
parted  with  you,  albeit  a  prisoner  alternatively 
to  the  military  authorities  of  antagonistic  ar- 
mies, precisely  as  I  stood  with  you  during 
three  sessions  of  our  high  legislative  associa- 
tion. Nothing  more,  and  nothing  less,  I  have  ut- 
tered nothing  in  my  public  addresses  before 
the  people — nothing  in  the  presence  of  my  cap- 
tors on  either  side — which  has  not  its  counter- 
part in  my  utterances  and  my  conduct  here. 
That  is,  of  course,  enough  to  say  in  respect  to 
my  "loyalty,"  and  I  am  simply  thankful  that  I 
have  been  strengthened  to  properly  manifest  and 
maintain  it  under  the  circumstances  to  which  I 
need  not  more  specifically  advert.  Whilst  I  have 
felt  that  the  respectful  consideration  which  was 
shown  to  me  during  the  period  in  which  I  was 
the  compulsory  guest  of  the  Confederate  au- 
thorities in  no  respect  abated  my  veneration 
for  " the  Union  as  it  was"  so,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  similar  respectful  consideration  which 
has  been  shown  me  by  the  misguided  authori- 
ties of  my  own  Government  has  in  no  re- 
spect abated  my  devotion  to  "my  State  as 
it  is."  Upon  these  cardinal  propositions,  there- 
fore, I  stand  to-day  as  I  stand  upon  all  your 
records. 

Of  the  manner  of  my  discharge,  it  is,  per- 
haps, sufficient  to  state  that  after  having  sent 
to  Ironton  and  elsewhere  for  witnesses  against 
me,  and  having,  up  to  Thursday  last,  examin- 
ed those  who  made  their  appearance,  a  messen- 
ger brought  to  my  hotel,  that  afternoon,  this 
letter : 


OFFICE  OF  PROVOST  MARSHAL  GENERAL,  -\ 
DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI,      > 
ST.  Louis,  June  5,  1862.         ) 
JAMES  H.  BIRCH,  Esq., 

Everett  House,  St.  Louis. 

SIR  :  You  are  hereby  discharged  from  your 
parole  to  report  at  this  office,  feeling  every  as- 
surance that  if  the  evidence  not  yet  heard  by 
me  should  seem  to  me  to  require  any  further 
investigation  of  the  cause  of  your  arrest,  and 
make  it  desirable  on  my  part  to  have  your  per- 
sonal attendance  here,  a  communication  can 
reach  you,  and  that  you  will  attend  without 
delay.  I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
BERNARD  G.  FARRAR, 

P.  M.   General. 

Of  course,  Mr.  President,  no  sufficient  rea- 
sons were  found  to  exist  for  detaining  me,  so 
that  I  may,  without  immodesty,  congratulate 
myself  and  my  State  that  the  great  constitu- 
tional guarantee  of  "  FREE  SPEECH"  has  suffer- 
ed neither  abuse  nor  detriment  in  the  keeping  of 
a  citizen  aspiring  to  its  first  magistracy.  May 
others,  therefore,  be  encouraged  to  use  the  in- 
estimable privilege  thus  vindicated  and  conce- 
ded, until  the  people  of  every  county  shall  be 
organized,  in  the  coming  canvass,  in  opposi- 
tion to  those  alone  who  have  forced  upon  the 
country  a  new  and  exasperating  issue,  and  who 
affect  to  regard  every  man  as  disloyal  whose 
purposes  cannot  be  moulded  to  suit  their  pur- 
poses !  Who  are  these  people,  Mr.  President  ? 
I  cannot  better  answer  my  own  question  than 
by  calling  the  attention  of  the  Convention 
and  of  the  country  to  the  estimate  of  "loyalty" 
and  "dfeloyalty,"  as  put  forth  in  writing  by 
the  commandant  of  the  post  who  placed  me 
"  under  military  arrest,"  and  in  obedience  to 
whose  order  I  have  been  reporting  myself  with 
respectful  yet  sorrowing  indignation,  upon  the 
daily  requisition  of  the  Marshal,  until  at  length 
discharged,  as  already  denoted.  (It  will  be 
noted  that  that  discharge  is  unconditional— all 
else  depending  upon  a  reciprocal  comity,  of 
which  the  Marshal  was  not  mistaken  in  assum- 
ing I  entertain  the  proper  appreciation.  It  is, 
moreover,  but  just  to  that  officer  and  to  myself 
to  add  that  no  suggestion  even  has  been  made  to 
me  in  respect  either  to  the  manner  or  the  mat- 
ter of  what  I  may  have  to  say  in  the  future, 
whether  here  or  elsewhere ;  so  that  I  stand  to- 
day, as  I  have  ever  stood,  as  free  to  speak  my 
thoughts  as  others  are  to  speak  their  thoughts. 
Had  it  been  otherwise,  Mr.  President,  our  as- 
sociation "  from  early  manhood  to  advancing 


91 


age"  will  justify  me  in  appealing  to  you  as  at 
once  a  witness  and  a  judge,  that  I  would  have 
foreborne  to  speak  at  all.  I  might,  indeed, 
upon  this  occasion  have  read  from  Scott,  what 
I  recur  to  and  repeat  from  memory — perchance 
inaccurately  as  regards  the  very  words,  but 
with  all  the  emphasis  wherewith  he  has  invest- 
ed his  "Last  Minstrel" — who 

"  Fell,  but  the  foeman's  chain 

Could  not  bring  his  proud  soul  under. 
The  harp  that  he  loved  ne'er  epoke  again, 

For  he  tore  its  chords  asunder : 
And  said,  no  bonds  shall  sully  thee, 

Thou  shrine  of  truth  and  bravery ; 
Your  voice  was  tuned  for  the  great  and  free, 

It  shall  never  sound  in  SLAVERY." 

But  to  recur  to  the  inquiry,  who  are  these 
people  ?  A  letter  written  by  Col.  Boyd  to  a 
friend  in  St.  Louis,  and  which  that  friend  most 
opportunely  for  my  purposes  in  this  inquiry 
incorporated  in  a  communication,  recommend- 
ing him  for  Lieutenant  Governor,  in  the  Dem- 
ocrat of  Wednesday  last,  concludes  as  follows  : 

"  I  am  in  favor  of  emancipating  the  slaves  of 
this  State  without  a  condition  precedent,  as  it 
will  take  too  long  to  make  any  arrangements 
for  the  disposition  to  be  made.  The  position 
of  master  and  slave  will  not  be  so  altered  as  to 
become  obnoxious  and  oppressive. 

"  I  am  in  favor  of  the  shortest  road  to  eman- 
cipation, and  the  squelching  out  of  the  rebel- 
lion. 

"  I  am  in  favor  of  emancipation  in  this  State 
as  a  military  necessity,  and  as  the  only  perfect 
peace  measure. 

"  I  am  opposed  to  the  continuance  of  slavery 
in  this  State,  because  nobody  but  rebels  favor 
it,  and  because  it  is  dangerous  and  destructive 
to  the  best  interest  of  every  Missourian. 

"  I  have  been  very  busy  this  morning,  and 
will  write  you  more  at  length  some  other  time. 
"  I  am,  &c.,  S.  H.  BOYD." 

In  the  estimation  of  this  "busy"  writer,  Mr. 
President,  I  am,  of  course,  disloyal,  and  so, 
doubtless,  in  the  estimation  of  those  at  other 
places  where  I  have  spoken,  and  who,  thereup- 
on, it  would  seem,  addressed  letters  to  him 
that  I  was  "  bidding  for  secession  votes" — pre- 
paring, thereby,  the  materials  and  the  induce- 
ments for  my  arrest  at  Holla.  I  am  in  favor  of 
"  the  continuance  of  slavery  in  this  State,"  as 
I  have  ever  been  ;  but  I  protest,  Mr.  President, 
that  so  far  from  ever  dreaming  that  in  an  argu- 
ment to  that  point  I  was  "  giving  aid  to  the  en- 
emy," I  was  simply  endeavoring  to  persuade 
"  the  enemy"  to  aid  me.  Whether  for  that  I 


am  to  be  regarded  as  liable,  in  the  future,  to 
military  arrest,  it  shall  not,  at  least,  go  into  his- 
tory against  me  that  I  not  only  bid  for  Abolition 
votes  of  the  most  radical  character,  but  that  I 
did  so,  as  the  man  who  arrested  me  has  done, 
in  the  most  unscrupulous  and  brazen  disregard 
of  the  constitutional  guaranties  of  the  consti- 
tutions which  I  have  so  often  sworn  to  support. 
Being  in  favor  of  "  the  continuance  of  slavery 
in  this  State,"  this  military  popinjay  not  only 
writes  me  down  a  "rebel,"  but  actually  arrests 
me  for  disloyalty;  whilst  cotemporaneously 
with  an  outrage  which  has  aroused  the  whole 
people  to  the  inquiry,  "  Whither  are  we  drift- 
ing ?"  men  of  the  same  class  put  him  forward 
to  preside  over  the  Senate  of  Missouri  as  the 
second  man  in  the  State  !  Mr.  President,  I 
will  not  dignify  such  a  letter  with  further  crit- 
icism than  to  express  the  charitable  conclusion 
that  its  author  has  always  been  too  "busy" 
with  mere  political  intrigues  to  extend  his  polit- 
ical reading  to  such  dry  authority  as  that  of 
the  Constitution  of  his  State,  or  the  United 
States ;  for  surely  had  he  done  so,  even  he  would 
not  have  stultified  himself  by  such  a  bid  for  po- 
litical advancement.  (A  friend  sitting  near  me 
suggests  that  he  belongs  to  the  party  with  "  an 
anti-slavery  constitution,  an  anti-slavery  bible, 
and  an  anti-slavery  God.")  Be  it  so.  I  only 
care  to  state,  however,  that  he  proposes  that 
constitutions  shall  stand  no  more  in  the  way  of 
his  purposes  to  abolitionize  the  State,  than  truth 
and  honor  stood  in  his  way  when  ordering  me 
into  the  custody  of  his  Marshal.  I  shall,  of 
course,  endeavor,  as  far  as  possible,  to  keep  out 
of  his  way  during  the  rest  of  my  canvass,  and 
trust  that  before  he  fully  "ripens"  for  Lieut. 
Governor,  he  will  at  least  have  discerned  the 
difference  between  the  dignity  of  an  intelligent 
and  self-respecting  soldier,  and  the  flippant  up- 
startery  which  but  too  often  disgraces  a  soldier's 
sword.  And  I  advise  the  fifty-two  members  of 
this  Convention,  who  have  just  voted  against 
even  constitutional  "emancipation"  to  keep  sim- 
ilarly out  of  the  way  of  his  Lieutenant  Gover- 
norship, for  he  will  be  furious  when  he  sees  that 
vote. 

I  ought  not,  perhaps,  to  omit  in  this  connex- 
ion, the  excuses  of  his  St.  Louis  organ,  for  even 
the  Democrat  seems  to  have  considered  it  ne- 
cessary to  work  up  some  kind  of  an  excuse  for 
its  "nominee,"  whilst  at  the  same  time  adroitly 
essaying  to  prejudice  me.  What  it  says  about 
the  weakness  of  the  garrison  at  Holla,  and  of 
the  woods  being  full  of  guerrillas,  may  or  may 
not  be  true,  without  touching  in  any  sense  the 


unsoldierly  indignity  to  which  he  was  pleased 
to  subject  a  civil  and  an  unarmed  civilian.  If 
the  post  was  too  weak  for  the  "guerrillas,"  and 
it  was  not  his  own  fault,  it  was  at  least  not  mine, 
for  they  received  from  me  no  other  recognition 
than  the  energy  and  emphasis  of  an  explicit 
and  an  exterminating  denunciation.  Yet  the 
paragraph  is  so  worded  as  to  incline  many  to 
believe  that  the  alleged  guerrillas  and  myself 
were  working  in  concert.  And,  in  consequence 
of  the  fulminations  of  this  paper  and  its  corres- 
pondents, there  are  men,  even  in  the  Missouri 
regiment,  who  are  said  to  be  becoming  my  en- 
emies, instead  of  continuing  to  be  my  friends, 
as  I  have  ever  been  theirs.  Enough  of  this, 
however,  until  "  by  and  by." 

"What  was  said  in  the  Republican  the  morning 
after  my  arrest,  in  respect  to  the  allusion  in  my 
speech  to  the  expenses  of  the  war,  was,  if  I 
correctly  remember,  substantially  true  in  fact. 
But  in  that  case,  also,  the  informant  of  the  pa- 
per was  misinfortned  himself,  or  purposely  left 
out  the  great  governing  fact  that  I  brought  for- 
ward the  present  and  prospective  expenses  of 
the  war  (not  in  this  State,  but  its  aggregate  ex- 
penses) as  an  argument,  merely,  against  the 
President's  scheme  of  compensated  emancipa- 
tion. It  all  centres,  therefore,  in  my  opposition 
to  this  ill-timed,  however  well  intended,  propo- 
sition ;  and  upon  it  I  will  make  but  a  few  addi- 
tional and  closing  remarks,  rendered  the  more 
pertinent  by  the  introduction  of  the  ordinance 
to  which  we  have  just  listened,  and  which  has 
so  appropriately  been  "pinned  to  the  table." 

Whilst  under  arrest  in  St.  Louis,  some  friend 
who  was  sagacious  enough  to  see  through  the 
whole  thing  at  a  glance,  enclosed  me,  through 
the  city  post  office,  a  couple  of  letters,  written 
from  Washington,  by  Colonel  Benton,  after  the 
illustrious  old  Senator  had  discovered  that  the 
Abolitionists  who  are  now  trying  to  make  po- 
litical merchandise  of  the  patriotic  yearnings 
of  the  people  for  the  restoration  of  "the  Union," 
had  made  merchandise  of  him  in  the  guberna- 
torial canvass  of  the  preceding  August.  Of 
course  the  Colonel  knew  these  political  charla- 
tans better  than  I  did,  or  perhaps  even  now  do ; 
and  if  he  called  them  "the  same. as  abolition- 
ists," let  them  clear  themselves  of  his  denunci- 
ations— for  they  are  his,  not  mine.  I  speak  not, 
of  course,  of  the  upright  men  who  merely  dif- 
fer with  me  in  respect  to  the  economy  or.  the 
policy  of  slavery,  for  with  them,  at  a  proper 
time,  it  is  known  I  am  not  only  willing  to  ar- 
gue it  out,  but  to  vote  it  out — abiding  the  con- 
stitutional decision  of  my  State,  as  every  true 


man  should  do.     I  speak,  therefore  of  the  class 
of  whom  the  "  Senator  of  thirty   years"  was 
speaking,  when  he  wrote  home  as  follows  : 
"  WASHINGTON,  February  23,  1857. 

"  I  saw  with  amazement  the  Abolition  move  in 
our  Assembly,  and  wrote  immediately  to  Price, 
Lusk,  and  others,  at  Jefferson  City,  to  condemn 
and  repudiate  it.  They  ought  to  have  cut  themselves 
loose  from  me  before  they  began  a  new  slavery 
agitation  in  the  State,  contrary  to  my  establish- 
ed policy.  They  ought  to  have  made  known 
their  intentions  before  the  election,  that  I  might 
not  have  been  DECEIVED  by  them. 

"Many  friends  told  me  that  these  persons 
would  turn  out  for  Abolition  in  the  State  as 
soon  as  the  election  was  over ;  but  I  could  not 
believe  in  such  a  thing.  To  add  a  State  slave- 
ry agitation  to  the  national  agitation,  at  the  very 
moment  when  we  were  opposing  the  national 
agitation,  was  an  incredible  thing. 

"For  the  persons  calling  themselves  my  friends 
to  attack  the  whole  policy  of  my  life,  which  was 
to  keep  slavery  agitation  out  of  the  State,  and  get 
my  support  in  the  canvass  by  keeping  me  igno- 
rant of  what  they  intended  to  do,  is  the  GREAT- 
EST OUTRAGE  I  have  ever  experienced.  Those 
who  have  done  it,  have  never  communicated 
ONE  WORD  to  me  in  justification  or  explanation, 
of  their  conduct,  for  it  is  something  they  can 
neither  explain  nor  justify.  They  know  that  it 
was  I  who  introduced  the  clause  against  legisla- 
tive emancipation  into  the  Constitution,  in  order 
to  keep  the  slavery  agitation  out  of  the  State, 
and  that  my  whole  life  has  been  opposed  to  the 
agitation  of  the  subject. 

THOMAS  H.  BENTON." 

In  another  letter  to  a  friend,  dated  February 
24,  1857,  he  writes  as  folloAvs  : 

"  I  wish  you  to  get  the  St.  Louis  Democrat — 
change  its  name  and  character  —  for  no  useful 
paper  can  now  ever  be  made  out  of  it.  I  will 
be  in  St.  Louis  in  April,  and  assist  you.  The 
paper  is  given  up  to  the  slavery  subject,  agita- 
ting State  emancipation  against  my  established 
and  known  policy.  Having  got  the  clause 
against  legislative  emancipation  on  purpose  to 
prevent  politicians  from  agitating  the  question 
and  disturbing  the  country  with  it,  I  wrote  to 
friends  at  Jefferson,  condemning  the  movement 
as  soon  as  I  saw  it  made,  and  I  wish  you 
would  republish,  from  my  Jefferson  City  speech 
of  1849,  the  passage  in  which  I  took  credit  to 
myself  for  that  clause  in  the  Constitution,  and 
deprecated  agitation.  They  ought  to  have  told 
me  before  the  election  what  they  intended  to  do; 
if  they  had,  1  should  not  have  supported  the  ticket. 


93 


They  h;ul  no  rii,rht  to  make  me,  by  concealing 
that  i'act,  a  supporter  of  an  emancipation  ticket, 
(the  same  in  effect  as  abolition,)  against  the 
known  policy  of  my  life,  and  it  will  produce  a 
complete  separation  between  us." 

With  such  a  text  as  this,  Mr.  President,  I 
could  of  course  elaborate  "  a  discourse"  which 
would  be  anything  but  complimentary  or  edi- 
fying to  those  by  whom  I  have  been  so  malig- 
nantly assailed;  but  as  it  would  be  dissonant 
with  fairness  to  weave  a  political  argument 
upon  a  mere  question  of  privilege,  I  forbear  at 
this  time  the  amplification  to  which  I  would  be 
otherwise  so  strongly  tempted.  It  is  trusted  I 
have  said  enough  to  denote  and  fix  the  grounds 
upon  which  (and  upon  which  alone)  my  "loyalty" 
has  been  so  calumniously  impugned  ;  and  that 
it  was  not  disloyalty  to  the  Union,  but  loyalty 
to  my  State  as  well  as  "  the  Union,"  which 
caused  my  arrest  by  a  political  antagonist,  and 
my  consequent  detention  from  my  duties  here. 
Some  friends  refer  the  whole  matter  to  a  still 
wider  preconcert  than  I  have  felt  justified  in 
assuming  from  what  I  know;  and  as  I  will  not 
speak  beyond  the  RECORD,  I  of  course  decline 
more  specific  cognizance  of  any  other  parties 
for  the  present.  If  the  expectation  has  been 
anywhere  entertained  that  the  treatment  to 
which  I  have  been  subjected  would  so  far  over- 
awe the  people  who  "  constitute  the  State,"  as 
to  lower  their  demands  in  respect  to  the  quali- 
ties of  citizenship  and  magistracy,  and  of  legis- 
lation, which  should  be  most  honored  amongst 
us  in  the  future,  its  contrivers  may  live  to  re- 
alize that  their  experiment  was  at  least  a  failure, 
which  is  all  that  I  desire  to  say  at  present,  ex- 
cept to  point  to  the  vote  of  yesterday  evening, 
(the  first  upon  which  I  have  had  the  opportu- 
nity to  record  my  name,.)  as  denoting  the  feel- 
ing in  which  I  am  happy  to  meet  a  majority  of 
my  colleagues  of  this  Convention. 

With  this  brief  explanation,  therefore,  I  am 
of  course  content  that  the  conduct  of  my  accu- 
sers, as  well  as  my  own,  shall  go  before  the 
country,  to  be  judged  of  and  passed  upon  by 
the  people  of  our  State.  I  will  hence  but  read, 
in  conclusion,  the  resolutions  which  I  had  the 
honor  to  report  from  the  minority  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  State  Relations,  toward  the  close  of 
our  first  session,  and  which,  it  is  deferentially 
submitted,  might  most  appropriately  be  taken 
up  and  acted  upon  at  the  present  session. 
Whether  this  be  done  or  not,  however,  the  re- 
production of  these  resolutions  will  vindicate 
at  least  the  consistency  of  my  Unionism — for  I 
have  said  no  more  of  late  in  opposition  to  the 


possibly  portented  military  "invasion"  or  sub- 
version of  the  "  constitutional  right"  therein 
referred  to  than  is  &tlea.&t  distinctly  foreshadow- 
ed in  the  third  resolution  itself.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve the  contingency  will  ever  arise.  My  daily 
orisons  shall  continue  to  ascend  to  Heaven 
that  it  never  may.  I  implore  the  President 
that  he  may  never  so  far  lose  sight  of  the  men- 
dacious malignity  of  Abolitionism  as  to  yield 
himself  to  influences  which  may  render  my 
resolution  the  practical,  as  no  man  can  doubt  it 
is  the  theoretical,  voice  of  my  STATE  ;  and  I 
think  he  should  be  still  further  premonished  by 
this  Convention  that  even  the  loyalty  of  Mis- 
souri is  bounded  by  the  "  constitutional  rights" 
of  Missouri,  of  which  "  the  possession  of  slave 
property"  is  one,  and  to  be  dealt  with  by  our 
own  people  ALONE.  The  resolutions  : 

Resolved,  That  whilst  denying  the  legal  right 
of  a  State  to  secede  from  the  Union,  (as 
assumed  in  the  communication  which  has  been 
made  to  this  State  by  the  Commissioner  from 
the  State  of  Georgia,)  we  recognize  in  lieu 
thereof  the  right  of  revolution,  should  sufficient 
reason  arise  therefor. 

2.  That  whilst,  in  common  with  the  State  of 
Georgia,  we  deplore  and  reprobate  the  section- 
al disregard  of  duty  and  fraternity  so  forcibly 
presented  by  her  Commissioner,  we  are,  never- 
theless,   undespairing  of  future  justice;  nor 
will  we  despair  until  our  complaints  shall  have 
been  specifically  and  unavailingly  submitted  to 
the  Northern  PEOPLE. 

3.  That  we  concur  with  the  Commissioner  of 
the  State  of  Georgia,  that  the  possession   of 
slave  property  is  a  constitutional  right,  and  as 
such  ought  to  continue  to  be  recognized  by  the 
Federal   Government ;  that,  if  it  shall  invade 
or  impair  that  right,  the  slaveholding  States 
should  be  found  united  in  its  defence  ;  and  that 
in  such  events  as  may  legitimately  follow,  this 
State  will  share  the  dangers  and  the  destiny  of 
her  sister  slave  States. 

4.  That,  relying  upon  the  restoration  of  fra- 
ternal relations  on  the  basis  of  adjustment  thus 
and  otherwise  denoted   in  the   action  of  this 
Convention,  the  President  is  requested  to  com- 
municate to  each  of  the  seceded  States  a  copy 
of  its  resolves,  and  to  invoke  for  them  the  same 
earnest  and  respectful  consideration  in  which 
they  are  submitted,  and  which  restrains   this 
Convention  from  any  further  criticism  upon 
the  mode  or  manner,  the  motives  or  the  suffi- 
ciency for  the  action   of  the  seceding  States, 
than  to  add  that  it  has  elicited  our  unfeigned 
regrets. 


94 


Thanking  the  Convention  for  the  sustaining 
courtesy  and  attention  with  which  I  have  been 
listened  to,  I  will  not  further  trespass  upon  i 
than  to  repeat  that  I  stand  upon  my  record  ir 
the  past,  as  denoting  my  well  considered  pur 
poses  for  the  future.    A  Union  man  from  the 
beginning,  whilst  I  shall  continue  so  to  the  end 
I  shall,  nevertheless,  too  well  remember  the 
maxims  of  my  political  fathers  to  ever  regard 
my  State  as  "  a  dependency,"  as  the  monoma 
niac  itinerant  does  who  replied  to  me  at  Rolla 
I  shall,  on  the  contrary,  continue  to  cherish  the 
lofty  teachings  of  the  transition  era  of  '98,  as 
confirmed  to  me  by  all  subsequent  reflection 
that  whilst  "  the  Right*  of  the  States  and  the 
Union  of  the  States  must  stand  or  fall  together, 
they  can  both  be  best  preserved  by  resisting 
aggressions  upon  them  within  the  Union  than 
by  going  out  of  the  Union.    It  is  in  this  sense 
Mr.  President,  but  in  this  only,  that  I  am,  as  I 
have  ever  been,  an  "unconditional  Union  man, 
at  the  same  time  that  I  am  an  unconditional 
"  State  Rights  man" — the  two  terms,  in  the  vo- 
cabulary of  my  political  education,  being  not 
only  convertible,  but  destined,  as  already  de- 
noted, tO   "  STAND  OR  FALL  TOGETHER." 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Mr.  McCLUHG  presented  a  report  from  the 
Committee  ou  the  Militia. 

Mr.  HENDERSON  presented  the  memorial  of 
Philander  Drake,  praying  to  be  reimbursed  for 
services  in  organizing  the  State  militia.  Re- 
ferred to  a  special  committee. 

Mr.  McFERRAN,  from  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  presented  a  revised  report,  which 
was  ordered  to  be  printed. 

DISTRICTING    THE    STATE. 

The  bill  dividing  the  State  into  nine  Con- 
gressional Districts  was  taken  up. 

The  first,  second,  third,  and  fourth  sections 
were  read  and  agreed  to. 

Mr.  WELCH  offered  an  amendment  to  the 
fifth  section,  as  follows:  "That  Moniteau, 
Cole,  Morgan,  and  Miller  counties  be  taken 
from  the  fifth  district  and  added  to  the  sixth." 
He  said  :  The  districts,  as  laid  off  in  that  report, 
embrace  counties  lying  on  both  sides  of  the 
river.  The  districts  can  be  formed  equally  as 
well  by  having  the  counties  all  on  one  side  of 
the  river,  and  that  is  what  my  amendment 
proposes. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS.  The  gentleman  from  John- 
son (Mr.  Welch)  will  find,  upon  a  further 
examination,  that  it  will  be  an  utter  impossi- 
bility to  make  nine  districts  in  the  State  of 


Missouri  without  crossing  the  river,  either  west 
or  east.  The  only  question  is,  whether  you  will 
cross  the  river  at  St.  Charles,  Independence,  or 
Kansas  City.  The  committee,  after  investi- 
gating the  matter  thoroughly,  decided  to  cross 
the  river  at  Independence. 

Mr.  Moss.  In  addition  to  what  has  been 
said  by  the  gentleman  from  Pettis,  (Mr.  Phil- 
lips,) I  will  state  that,  as  far  as  the  objection 
in  reference  to  crossing  the  river  is  concerned, 
I  agree  with  him,  but  the  Convention  has 
already  determined  the  matter.  We  cannot 
cross  the  river  at  St.  Charles,  because  the  Con- 
vention have  settled  on  the  districts  there. 
Unless  you  go  back  and  undo  what  you  have 
done  in  reference  to  other  districts,  the  river 
must  be  crossed  where  these  districts  are  laid 
out. 

The  amendment  was  lost,  and  the  fifth  and 
sixth  sections  were  adopted. 

Mr.  SMITH,  of  Linn,  offered  an  amendment 
to  the  seventh  section,  to  strike  out  Linn  and 
add  it  to  the  eighth  section. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to,  and  the  sec- 
tions adopted  and  the  bill  passed. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  move  to  pass  over  the  bill, 
and  make  it  the  special  order 

The  PRESIDENT.     The  bill  has  passed. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  understand  that  whenever 
an  ordinance  is  adopted  by  sections,  it  must 
then  be  adopted  as  a  whole.  You  announced 
;hat  it  would  be  so  ordered,  unless  objections 
were  made  j  and  before  you  announced  that  the 
motion  was  carried,  I  arose. 

The  PRESIDENT.  I  will  state  that  the  ordi- 
nance has  passed ;  but  the  gentleman  can  appeal 
f  he  desires. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  desire  to  record  my  vote  on 
he  passage  of  the  ordinance.  I  did  not  desire 
o  call  the  ayes  and  noes  on  the  adoption  of 
every  section ;  I  desire  to  record  my  name  on 
he  final  vote. 

QUALIFICATIONS    OF    VOTERS. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  move  to  take  up  the 
{  Ordinance  defining  the  Qualifications  of 
Voters." 

Mr.  RAY.  I  move  that  it  be  made  the  special 
rder  for  2  o'clock. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

AUTHORIZING     THE     GOVERNOR   TO    FILL     VA- 
CANCIES. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  I  move  that  the 
ill  reported  by  the  Committee  on  Constitution 
e  taken  up. 

The  PRESIDENT.     It  will  be  to-morrow. 


95 


The  bill  was  read. 

Mr.  HALL.  I  wish  to  say  a  word  or  two  in 
explanation  of  that.  The  sixth  section  of  our 
ordinance  provides  that  all  civil  officers  shall, 
in  a  certain  time,  take  the  oath  prescribed  in 
our  ordinance,  and  that  failing  to  do  that,  they 
should  be  removed  from  office.  The  seventh 
section  provides  that  all  county  officers  shall 
be  allowed  twenty  days  after  the  county  clerk 
takes  his  oath  to  file  their  oaths.  In  many  of 
the  counties  where  the  offices  are  all  in  the 
hands  of  secessionists,  the  county  clerk  woul 
fail  to  take  his  oath,  and  the  county  court  re- 
fuse to  appoint  any  county  clerk,  and  hence 
under  that  section  no  appointment  could  be 
made.  It  becomes  absolutely  necessary,  there 
fore,  that  the  Governor  should  make  appoint- 
ments without  reference  to  the  seventh  section, 
and  the  effect  of  this  ordinance  is  to  legalize 
the  appointments  the  Governor  was  compelled 
to  make. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  was  not  in  the  committee 
when  this  ordinance  was  prepared.  I  glanced 
at  it  a  day  or  two  ago,  but  have  not  thought  of 
it  since.  It  occurred  to  me  there  should  be  an 
additional  section  with  reference  to  the  Board 
of  Public  Schools  and  Public  Works. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  Well,  the  Gover- 
nor has  not  filled  those  places  and  does  not 
propose  it. 

The  bill  was  then  passed. 

REPEALING   CERTAIN   ORDINANCES. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  move  to  take  up  "An  or- 
dinance repealing  certain  ordinances  submit- 
ting the  action  of  this  Convention  to  the  people 
of  Missouri,  and  for  other  purposes." 

The  bill  was  taken  up,  and  the  yeas  and  nays 
demanded  on  its  passage. 

Mr.  COMINGO.  I  presume  there  are  several 
gentlemen  in  this  hall  who  do  not  know  the 
extent  to  which  that  goes.  I  believe  It  does 
not  apply  to  all  ordinances,  but  to  one  parti- 
cular ordinance. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  do  not  know  the  extent  of 
the  ordinances  which  this  proposes  to  repeal, 
and  I  would  like  some  gentleman  to  explain. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  The  ordinance  passed  at 
the  July  session  submitted  the  action  of  the 
Convention  to  the  people.  When  we  met  in 
October  we  modified  it  so  as  to  continue  the 
submission  to  the  next  general  election.  It  is 
these  ordinances  that  this  ordinance  proposes 
to  repeal. 

Mr.  WELCH.  Do  I  understand  from  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  that  that  is  the 


only  ordinance  to  be  repealed?     If  so,  I  will 
withdraw  the  call  for  the  yeas  and  nays. 
The  bill  was  then  passed. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS  presented  an  invitation  from 
Mr.  Miller,  the  Warden  of  the  Penitentiary, 
requesting  the  members  of  the  Convention  to 
visit  the  institution  at  their  convenience.  He 
moved  that  for  this  purpose  the  Convention 
adjourn  until  nine  o'clock  Monday  morning. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  motion  is  not  in 
order. 

The  Convention  then,  on  motion,  adjourned 
until  2  P.  M. 


AFTERNOON    SESSION. 
The  Convention  met  at  2  P.  M. 

QUALIFICATIONS    OF   VOTERS. 

The  bill  defining  the  qualifications  of  voters 
was  taken  up. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  move  to  strike  out  the 
second  section  of  the  ordinance. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  propose  to  offer  an 
amendment  to  strike  out  the  third  section  and 
insert  the  following  in  lieu  thereof  : 

"  SEC.  3.  Every  person  who  shall  be  elected 
or  appointed  to  any  civil  office  shall,  at  least 
five  days  before  such  election,  take  and  sub- 
scribe to  an  oath  to  declare  that  he  has  not 
during  the  present  rebellion  taken  up  arms  or 
levied  war  against  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  or  the  State  of  Missouri,  or  giv- 
en aid  or  comfort  to  the  opposers  thereof ;  and 
that  he  will  support,  protect  and  defend  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  against  all  enemies,  whether 
domestic  or  foreign,  any  ordinance  of  any  Le- 
gislature, or  any  commander's  orders,  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding  ;  and  that  he  does  this 
with  the  honest  purpose  faithfully  to  perform 
the  same,  without  any  mental  reservation  what- 
ever, and  that  he  will  demean  himself  in  office 
according  to  law." 

The  precise  point  presented  by  the  amend- 
ment is  this.  The  ordinance,  as  reported  by 
the  majority  of  the  committee,  with  whom  I 
do  not  agree  upon  this  point,  provides  that  offi- 
cers after  they  have  been  appointed  or  elected 
shall  take  this  oath.  The  amendment  pro- 
aoses  that  they  shall  do  it  at  least  five  days 
before  the  election.  Therefore,  the  precise 
point  of  difference  between  the  amendment  as 


96 


proposed  and  the  ordinance  as  reported  is, 
whether  the  oath  shall  be  administered  to  the 
candidate  before  the  election,  or  whether  he 
shall  be  allowed  to  take  the  oath  after  the 
election.  I  presume,  sir,  that  it  is  sufficient  to 
state  the  point.  However,  I  will  make  one 
suggestion,  which  leads  my  mind  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  amendment  ought  to  be  adopt- 
ed. I  think  it  is  unfair  to  the  loyal  candidate 
to  leave  the  field  free  to  a  man  who  may  be 
disloyal  or  an  enemy  to  the  Government,  and 
permit  him  to  go  before  the  country  and  con- 
solidate a  party  influence  in  his  favor.  If  he 
is  defeated,  he  is  not  bound  to  the  Government 
at  all.  He  stands  precisely  the  same  as  if  he 
had  not  been  a  candidate,  and  even  after  he  is 
elected  he  may  refuse  to  take  the  oath.  I  do 
not  think  it  is  wise  or  proper  legislation  for 
the  onvention  to  allow  a  man  to  be  a  candi- 
date who  may  be  the  greatest  enemy  the  Gov- 
ernment has,  and  put  him  in  a  position  which 
only  a  man  loyal  to  his  government  should  oc- 
cupy. Therefore,  I  think  the  oath  ought  to 
be  prescribed  for  candidates,  and  that  they 
should  be  compelled  to  take  it  before  any  per- 
son is  permitted  to  vote  for  them.  That 
amendment  further  provides  that,  if  they  do 
not  take  the  oath,  no  vote  shall  be  cast  up  for 
them  and  no  certificate  of  election  given  to 
them.  These  are  the  reasons  that  operate  in 
my  mind  in  favor  of  this  amendment.  I  do  not 
wish  to  leave  this  thing  open  to  agitation,  and 
I  do  not  wish  to  leave  it  in  the  power  of  any 
disloyal  man  to  electioneer  against  a  loyal 
man,  or  to  consolidate  a  faction  against  him 
and  against  the  Government,  and  I  think  this 
cannot  be  done  under  my  amendment.  As  I 
stated,  I  suppose  the  mere  statement  of  the 
question  will  be  sufficient,  and  I  do  not  purpose 
to  discuss  it  further. 

Mr.  VANBUSKIRK.  I  would  make  this  sug- 
gestion. Every  man  is  required  to  demean 
himself  faithfully  in  office  before  he  is  elected, 
and  that  oath  is  to  be  filed  in  the  county  clerk's 
office.  Now,  I  would  inquire  whether  this 
candidate  can  be  required  to  demean  himself 
faithfully  in  office  before  he  is  elected  to  that 
office. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  If  it  be  in  order,  I  will  offer  an 
amendment  to  the  amendment.  I  move  to 
amend  the  third  section  by  striking  out  the 
words  "that  I  have  not,  during  the  present  re- 
bellion, levied  war  or  taken  up  arms  against 
the  Government  of  the  United  States.''  I  will 
simply  state,  in  support  of  my  proposition,  that 
I  personally  know  men  who  have  been  in 


Price's  army,  who  have  given  aid  and  comfort 
according  to  the  technical  meaning  of  these 
words,  and  they  have  returned  home  with  a 
purpose  to  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  hereafter;  and  they  are  the  men  we  invite 
to  come  here  and  join  in  the  associations  of 
citizenship.  Yet  that  section,  as  it  now  stands, 
excludes  them  entirely.  I  am  content  that 
hereafter  they  shall  swear  not  to  take  up  arms 
or  levy  war,  and  this  would  be  in  consonance 
with  all  the  orders  of  the  Military  Government 
of  the  State. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  Do  I  understand  the 
amendment  to  be,  that  a  man  who  has  been  in 
Price's  army  and  returned  home  willing  to  take 
the  oath,  can,  under  this  amendment,  be  Gov- 
ernor, or  hold  any  office  in  the  State  ? 

Mr.  BIRCH.     Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  move  to  lay  the  amendment 
on  the  table,  with  the  intention  afterwards  of 
calling  up  the  minority  report  and  asking  action 
on  it.  , 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  would  ask  the  gentle- 
man to  withdraw  until  the  motion  from  the 
gentleman  from  Clinton  is  considered,  as  that 
is  a  test  question. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  Very  well ;  I  do  not  desire  to 
be  troublesome. 

Mr.  ORE.  For  the  benefit  of  the  gentleman 
from  Clinton,  who  was  not  here  the  other  day 
to  hear  the  discussion  that  was  had,  I  wish  to 
make  a  few  remarks  only.  During  some  re- 
marks that  I  made  on  that  occasion,  I  was 
asked  why  I  would  not  admit  the  candidate  if 
I  would  admit  the  voter.  I  then  replied  that 
an  individual  might  come  in  at  the  foot  of  the 
class  and  work  his  way  up,  but  I  was  unwilling 
that  he  should  go  to  the  head  at  once  and  hold 
office.  I  occupy  that  position  now ;  and  I  hope 
the  Convention  will  not  go  so  far  as  to  sny  that 
a  traitor  may  come  home  and  be  elected  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State  of  Missouri.  What  I  have 
done  has  been  a  matter  of  expediency,  in  order 
to  induce  men  to  lay  down  their  arms  and 
become  good  and  peaceful  citizens ;  but  I  hope 
that  no  man  who  has  so  far  disgraced  himself 
as  to  engage  in  open  rebellion  will  be  allowed 
to  hold  office  in  Missouri  for  some  time  yet. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  desire  to  make  one  remark  in 
connection  with  that  amendment.  I  am  sorry 
that  the  gentleman  from  Clinton  was  not  here 
during  the  discussion  that  took  place  yesterday 
and  the  day  before;  and  in  order  that  he  may 
understand  my  position  clearly,  I  will  *tate  it,  so 
that  he  may  know  the  objects  and  purposes  I 
have  in  view  in  opposing  his  amendment.  I 


97 


stated  yesterday  that  I  presumed  every  man  in 
this  Convention  was  in  favor  of  keeping  the 
State  under  the  control  of  loyal  men.  The  only 
thing  we  differ  about  here  is  the  plan  which  we 
will  adopt  for  attaining  that  end.  My  plan  is  to 
have  no  election,  and  to  keep  the  Provisional 
Government  in  existence;  but  that  question  has 
not  been  urgp«l  as  to  whether  we  will  have  an 
election.  I  was  in  hopes  that  would  be  the  first 
question  presented,  but  it  has  not  been,  and  I  am 
going  to  vote  on  the  other  proposition  before  the 
Convention,  and  I  am  endeavoring  to  get  it  in  a 
shape  that  will  suit  me,  provided  I  shall  be 
overruled  in  the  proposition  to  have  no  elec- 
tion. The  proposition  to  have  no  election  is 
my  plan;  but  if  I  cannot  have  my  plan,  then  I 
want  to  adopt  the  next  best  plan.  But,  Mr. 
President,  I  will  say  lhat  if  the  amendment  is 
adopted,  the  control  of  the  State  passes  o-it  of 
the  hands  of  loyal  men.  If  you  turn  loose  the 
people  of  Missouri  now,  to  vote  at  'he  coining 
elections  without  any  restrictions  upon  their 
voters  or  candidates,  except  such  as  relates  to 
their  future  action,  then  the  control  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  will  pa^s  out  of  the  hands  of  loyal 
men.  I  want  all  voters  to  vote  untrammelled 
by  anything  that  has  happened  in  the  past  ; 
but  I  want  every  candidate  for  office  to  be 
bound  by  an  oath  which  will  cover  his  pa^t 
conduct.  In  other  words,  I  am  in  favor  of 
saying  to  the  people,  "you  can  all  vote,  but 
you  have  got  to  take  your  choice  between  loyal 
men."  If  we  have  got  to  have  an  election,  I 
want  that  much  restriction.  I  want  to  keep 
the  State  under  the  control  of  loyal  men.  No 
man  in  the  State  of  Missouri  ought  to  claim 
the  right  to  vote  for  any  other  than  a  loyal 
man — a  man  that  has  been  loyal  throughout 
these  troubles ;  but  I  wish  the  voters  to  have 
the  privilege  of  choosing  between  loyal  men. 
My  plan,  as  I  have  said,  is  to  have  no  election 
at  all.  I  dislike  to  see  any  election  with  re. 
strictions;  but  if  we  are  to  have  an  election, 
then,  as  a  man  having  at  heart  the  interests  of 
the  State  and  the  Union,  I  must  vote  for  some 
measure  that  will  retain  the  control  of  the  State 
in  the  hands  of  loyal  men. 

Mr.  RAY.  I  will  send  up  an  amendment 
which  I  hope  my  colleague  will  accept  for  his 
amendment.  His  amendment  proposes  to  strike 
out  certain  words  ;  my  amendment  proposes  to 
strike  out  the  same  words,  and  to  insert  others 
which  will  make  the  section  prospective  instead 
of  retrospective. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  If  it  is  competent,  I  will  accept 
the  amendment  of  my  colleague.  I  accept  it 

7 


as  a  comity.  I  think  the  remarks  of  the  gen- 
tleman from  Clay,  (Mr.  Moss,")  in  reference 
to  thi-)  amendment,  are  unfair.  I  have  heard  it 
said  that  it  would  allow  Jackson  to  come  back 
and  he  elected  Governor.  Suppose  it  does. 
Does  any  man  here  suppose  it  possible  that  he 
would  come  back  ?  Not  a  man  ;  and,  therefore, 
it  is  an  unfair  w;iy  of  meeting  an  argument  by 
exoitii  g  a  prejudice.  I  say  that  in  mei  e  justice 
to  myself,  and  that  is  all  the  reply  I  deem 
necessary  to  such  an  insinuation.  While  the 
gentleman  would  make  the  section  so  stringent 
as  to  prevent  Jackson  from  being  Governor^  he 
would  at  the  same  time  exclude  all  men  who 
propose  to  come  home  and  live  among  us,  and 
be  as  loyal  citizens  as  you  or  I.  The?e  men 
were  simply  mistaken,  and  under  the  previous 
action  of  this  Convention  they  have  returned 
home,  and  now  we  propose  to  put  them  in  a  posi- 
tion where  they  will  fet-1  iheir  degradation.  Sir, 
it  is  not  in  keeping  wi'h  anything  we  have  done 
thus  far  ;  it  is  not  in  keeping  with  the  policy  of 
the  General  Government  or  the  Provisional 
Government,  and  it  is  not  in  keepii  g  with  the 
suggestions  of  good  feeling,  or  (if  it  would  not 
be  an  act  of  discourtesy  to  say  it)  good  sense. 
1  do  not  mean  thut,  however,  but  I  use  it  for 
want  of  a  better  word.  Now,  the  best  way  in 
which  we  can  put  down  the  rebellion  is  to 
doctor  it  at  this  time  as  little  as  possible. 
There  are  Union  men  all  through  the  State, 
and  they  can  see  to  it  that  the  guerrillas  are 
kept  down,  and  that  is  all  that  remains  of  the 
rebellion  in  Missouri.  Let  us  say  to  those  who 
are  at  home  that  they  need  not  go  away,  and 
that  we  are  ready  to  receive  them  and  protect 
them,  but  not  to  subject  them  for  all  time  to 
our  deliberate  legislative  frowns.  There  are 
two  classes  in  the  Southern  army — men  who 
have  joined  under  a  misiuipression,  arid  men 
who  are  deliberate  traitor?.  Let  the  gentlemen 
who  desire,  disfranchise  all  such  men  as  Jack- 
son, and  bring  his  name  in  for  this  purpose  ; . 
but  let  it  not  be  said  that  Birch's  amendment 
would  allow  Jackson  to  come  here  and  be  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State.  Sir,  I  will  not  indulge  in 
such  a  reflection  as  to  suppose  that  the  people 
of  Missouri  would  elect  Jackson  under  any 
circumstances.  As  I  remarked,  I  think  the 
action  I  propose  is  in  perfect  keeping  with  all 
we  have  done  heretofore. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  now  move  that  the  minor- 
ity report  on  elections  be  taken  up  as  a  substi- 
tute for  the  one  before  the  House. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  motion  is  not  in  order 
until  the  amendment  is  disposed  of. 


98 


Mr.  HENDERSON.  If  (he  proposition  made 
by  the  gentleman  from  Clay  (Mr.  Moss)  be 
correct,  that  the  government  of  this  State  will 
pass  into  disloyal  hands  provided  this  propo- 
sition should  be  adopted,  then  I  desire  to  say 
it  ought  not  to  be  adopted.  I  desired  to  remark 
this  morning,  and  I  take  occasion  now  to  say, 
that  it  will  not  do  for  the  people  of  Missouri, 
under  any  circumstances  whatever,  to  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  any  proposition  whatever 
is  going  to  drive  them  into  this  rebellion.  Now, 
I  am  aware  that  a  great  many  things  will  oc- 
cur, and  in  a  short  time  I  feel  confident,  that 
if  the  people  of  Missouri  are  disposed  to  enter 
into  this  rebellion,  will  go  very  far  towards 
driving  them  into  it.  I  undertake  to  say  that, 
unless  the  rebellion  is  suppressed  in  the  South- 
ern States  very  soon,  a  great  many  questions 
will  arise  to  induce  the  people  of  this  State  to 
engage  in  rebellion  if  they  are  so  disposed.  I 
know  from  my  stand-point  that  measures  will 
be  proposed  and  adopted  within  the  next  six 
months,  that,  if  the  people  intend  to  take  up 
arms,  they  will  do  it.  Now,  I  say  nothing  in 
the  world  will  drive  me  to  take  up  arms  against 
the  Government  of  the  United  States.  If  these 
persons  will  continue  in  rebellion,  I  do  not 
know  that  we  ought  to  be  willing  to  enter  the 
rebellion,  no  matter  what  course  may  be  pur- 
sued by  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
for  its  suppression.  Gentlemen  know  of  my 
course — that  I  have  done  everything  to  resist 
the  radicalism  of  Congress — that  I  have  done 
it  in  sincerity  and  good  faith ;  but  I  think  it  is 
altogether  likely  that  in  less  than  six  months 
from  this  day  propositions  will  be  adopted  that 
members  hardly  dream  of.  It  was  this  I  de- 
sired to  say  this  morning  when  a  majority  of 
this  body  endeavored  to  get  rid  of  this  question 
by  voting  it  down  without  discussion.  Sir,  we 
can  never  get  rid  of  this  question  by  putting 
it  off  in  this  way.  I  say  it  is  necessary  for 
the  people  of  Missouri  to  understand  and  dis- 
cuss these  matters  at  this  time.  What  is  the 
condition  of  things  in  Virginia  to-day  ?  ft  is  a 
fact  that  my  colleagues  well  know,  and  that  is 
talked  of  in  the  streets  of  Washington  and  in 
the  halls  of  Congress,  that  there  is  not  a  slave 
in  the  valley  of  Virginia  to-day — not  one  single 
one  left  in  slavery  between  Yorktown  and  the 
Chickahominy — although  our  armies  are  under 
the  control  of  a  distinguished  Democratic 
General,  who  ».<> 

Mr.  HALL  of  Rando-lph.  As  the  gentleman 
has  remarked  that  this  fact  is  known  to  his 
colleagues,  possibly  he  alludes  to  me.  It  is 
not  known  to  me. 


Mr.  HENDERSON.     You  say  it  is  not  ? 

Mr.  HA.LL.     No,  sir,  it  is  not. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Have  you  not  heard,  day 
after  day,  that  there  is  not  a  slave  in  the  valley 
of  the  Shenandoah  ? 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.     I  have  heard  it. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  A  gentleman  stated  to 
me  that  a  member  of  the  Senate  was  so  in- 
formed on  a  recent  visit  home,  Mr.  Kennedy 
of  Maryland,  one  of  the  best  members  of  the 
Senate. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  My  information  is 
different.  I  have  lived  in  the  valley  of  Vir- 
ginia and  my  relations  now  live  there  ;  I  cor- 
respond with  them,  and  I  see  persons  almost 
daily  from  one  of  the  counties  in  that  part  of 
the  State,  and  while  they  have  lost  a  great 
many  negroes,  as  we  have  in  this  State,  my 
information  does  not  lead  me  to  believe  that 
it  is  by  any  means  true  to  the  extent  that  the 
gentleman  states.  My  information  is  that  a 
great  many  negroes  have  escaped  in  conse- 
quence of  the  disturbances  in  the  country  j  but 
my  information  from  my  sisters  living  at  Har- 
per's Ferry,  is  that  negroes  have  been  stopped 
from  crossing  the  river,  and  that  that  place  is 
filled  with  negroes  without  owners. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Is  it  not  your  understand- 
ing that  Yorktown  and  other  places  are  filled 
with  negroes  without  owners  ? 

Mr.  HALL.  Certainly,  and  there  are  a  great 
many  at  Washington  also;  but  my  information 
is  that  this  results  from  the  war,  which  gives 
facilities  to  the  negroes  te  escape.  Owners 
give  their  negroes  a  chance  to  escape,  but  I  do 
not  draw  the  conclusion  that  this  is  done  by, 
or  that  it  is  the  purpose  of,  the  Government  to 
accomplish  it.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  satisfied 
that,  if  that  purpose  is  entertained  by  any  part 
of  the  Government,  it  is  not  entertained  by  a 
majority  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  do  not  think  it  is  ;  but  I 
can  tell  the  gentleman  this,  and  I  think  he  feels 
it  as  confidently  as  I  do,  that  if  this  war  is 
continued  six  months  longer,  the  bill  that  was 
before  his  body  a  few  days  ago — the  Emanci- 
pation Bill — will  become  a  law,  and  I  ask  him 
if  he  has  any  doubt  in  regard  to  that  proposi- 
tion. 

Mr.  HALL.  My  opinion  is,  that  if  the 
Emancipation  bill  does  not  pass  at  the  present 
session,  it  never  will  pass.  My  opinion  is, 
and  I  have  derived  my  information  from  relia- 
ble sources,  that,  when  an  election  is  held 
in  the  Northern  States,  there  will  be  such  an 
expression  of  Northern  sentiment  as  will  effec- 
tually stop  the  radical  legislation  of  Congress. 


99 


Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  hope  the  gentleman 
is  correct.  But  my  object  is  to  put  the  people 
of  Missouri  on  their  guard.  I  desire  to  do  so 
in  good  faith,  and  I  desire  to  say  to  them  that 
they  must  not  be  astonished  if  the  most  radi- 
cal measures  are  adopted,  not  only  in  the 
army,  but  by  Congress,  for  the  suppression  of 
this  rebellion.  Now,  I  submit  a  plain  proposi- 
tion ;  gentlemen  may  talk  about  abolitionism, 
but  here  is  the  truth — that  eleven  of  our  sister 
States  have  gone  out  of  the  Union,  and  five  of 
the  Border  States,  in  connection  with  the  loyal 
and  conservative  men  of  the  North,  have  come 
to  our  rescue,  and  we  have  been  enabled  thus 
far  to  prevent  radical  legislation.  How  long 
will  that  last  ?  1  tell  you,  Mr.  President,  the 
Northern  people  will  not  much  longer  furnish 
their  money  and  their  sons  for  the  suppression 
of  this  rebellion  without  resorting  to  all  the 
means  that  God  and  men  have  put  into  their 
hands  for  this  purpose.  I  am  confident  this 
will  be  the  result.  Sir,  the  fact  is  apparent 
that  the  institution  of  slavery  cannot  exist  in 
the  midst  of  armies.  What  is  the  fact?  The 
gentleman  well  knows  that  vast  numbers  of 
slaves  are  congregated  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
and  elsewhere,  and  that  some  have  been  taken 
north,  and  that  even  many  are  being  taken 
to  Cuba  and  sold  by  the  slave  catchers  on  the 
coast.  Only  the  other  day  a  slaver  was  cap- 
tured almost  immediately  under  the  guns  of 
Fortress  Monroe.  We  witness  these  things 
almost  every  day,  and  the,  question  presents 
itself,  what  are  we  going  to  do  in  Missouri? 
I  am  not  disposed  to  denounce  every  man  as 
an  Abolitionist  who  believes  that  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  is  an  evil,  because  hundreds 
who  believe  that  fact  express  themselves  in  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  favor 
of  every  right  we  enjoy;  and  not  only  that,  but 
they  vote  and  act  with  us  every  day,  and  do 
everything  that  can  be  done  to  put  down  radi- 
calism. But,  if  the  gentleman  from  Clay  is 
correct,  that,  by  the  adoption  of  the  amend- 
ment of  the  gentleman  from  Clinton,  Missouri 
will  pass  back  into  disloyal  hands,  for  God's 
sake,  I  say,  pass  it  not.  You  may  resist  it  as 
much  us  you  please,  but  I  tell  you  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  willnmr  surren- 
der Missouri.  You  may  cry  aloud  that  our 
institution  of  slavery  is  about  to  be  destroyed, 
and  that,  therefore,  the  people  ought  to  rise 
and  resist  the  action  of  the  Government,  but  I 
say  that  it  will  be  utterly  impossible.  The 
people  of  the  Northern  States  are  determined 
that  Missouri  shall  remain  in  the  Union.  Sir, 


this  is  a  right  claimed  constitutionally,  for  the 
reason  that  no  State  has  the  right  to  secede, 
and  we  ought  to  make  the  best  of  our  condi- 
tion. I  do  not  say  we  should  abjectly  surren- 
der everything,  but  I  say  in  vindicating  our 
rights  we  ought  to  talk  about  them  and  con- 
sult with  each  other  in  regard  to  them.  Why, 
sir,  I  have  been  looking  all  winter  for  radical 
legislation.  I  have  been  looking  for  the  pas- 
sage of  a  confiscation  bill,  and  I  can  tell  the 
gentleman  from  Randolph,  that,  before  we  ad- 
journ, a  bill  will  be  passed,  confiscating  both 
the  personal  property  and  the  slaves  of  rebels. 
Whether  the  slaves  will  belong  to  the  Govern- 
ment, or  whether  they  will  dispose  of  them  or 
set  them  at  liberty,  is  a  question  which  I  can- 
not tell  how  they  will  decide.  But  such  a 
measure  will  in  all  probability  be  passed. 
Gentlemen  know  I  have  opposed  such  mea- 
sures. But  are  we  going  to  say  if  they  are 
passed  that  Missouri  will  secede  ?  And  if  you 
do  say  it  and  undertake  to  do  it,  I  can  tell  you 
the  second  destruction  of  Missouri  will  take 
place,  and  it  will  leave  negroes  and  nothing 
else  upon  the  surface.  I  believe  this  and  ex- 
press it,  with  the  best  wishes  for  the  people  of 
Missouri  in  the  world.  Because,  sir,  if  there 
is  any  man  closely  identified  with  the  people 
of  Missouri  and  attached  to  her  institutions,  I 
claim  to  be  that  individual.  Sir,  I  have  been 
inimical  to  none  of  the  institutions  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Missouri,  and  while  1  have  been  repre- 
senting them  I  have  done  all  in  my  power  to 
resist  these  things  j  but  yet  I  say  we  cannot 
resist  them  with  arms  in  our  hands,  because 
we  would  thereby  destroy  everything  we  seek 
to  protect.  Then,  sir,  if  this  proposition  be 
true,  I  can  tell  you  that  when  you  put  disloyal 
officers  into  power  in  Missouri,  who  will  at- 
tempt to  play  the  part  played  by  Jackson,  you 
will  not  only  bring  destruction  upon  them,  but 
certain  destruction  upon  yourselves.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  about  it;  I  can  tell  you  the 
besom  of  destruction  will  again  sweep  over 
this  State,  and  when  it  comes  again  it  will 
come  with  tenfold  power.  I  desired  to  say  as 
much  this  morning  and  to  warn  gentlemen 
against  permitting  any  prejudice  on  this  or 
any  other  subject  to  drive  them  into  a  spirit  of 
disloyalty,  and  also  to  beseech  the  Union  party 
of  Missouri  not  to  be  divided  upon  the  negro 
or  any  other  question.  Now,  we  have  nothing 
to  gain  by  putting  disloyal  men  into  office.  I 
am  much  inclined  to  pay  deference  and  respect 
to  the  views  of  the  gentleman  from  Clay,  and 
if  his  views  are  correct,  by  all  means  let 


100 


us  avoid  the  difficulty  by  keeping  loyal  men 
in  office.  My  candid  impression  is  that  sla- 
very will  survive  here  longer  than  in  South 
Carolina  or  Virginia.  If  this  war  continues 
twelve  months  longer  in  the  seceded  States, 
or  those  which  have  undertaken  to  set  up 
a  Cotton  Confederacy,  slavery  will  be  killed 
and  no  power  in  this  Union  can  preserve  it. 
While  it  will  survive  in  Missouri,  Kentucky, 
Delaware  and  Maryland,  it  will  be  dead  in 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi 
and  Louisiana.  Sir,  when  this  Hunter  pro 
clamation  was  issued  to  the  world,  I  felt  con- 
fident that  the  President  would  set  it  aside. 
But  the  President  of  the  United  States  does 
not  say  in  his  order  that  he  will  not  make  such 
an  order  in  time  to  come.  And  I  think  I  am 
right  in  saying  that  the  President  believes  he 
has  the  power  to  make  such  an  order  if  it  be- 
comes necessary,  under  military  law,  to  sup- 
press this  rebellion.  Now  I 

Mr.  BIRCH.  Will  the  gentleman  permit  me 
to  ask  whether  he  considers  the  President  of 
the  United  States  has  the  right  to  issue  such 
an  order  ? 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  am  not  arguing  that 
proposition  at  all.  I  am  saying  what  I  think 
will  be  the  result  of  these  things.  But  I  can 
be  candid  with  the  gentleman.  So  far  I  have 
done  all  in  my  power  to  prevent  radical  mea- 
sures from  being  adopted.  I  waited  on  the 
President  with  one  of  the  members  of  this  Con- 
vention, who  thanked  him  for  the  work  he  had 
done  ;  and  the  Missouri  delegation  did  every- 
thing they  could  towards  having  the  Fremont 
and  Hunter  proclamations  set  asiilej  and  not 
only  that,  but  we  did  all  we  could  to  prevent 
the  passage  of  that  radical  measure  through 
Congress  which  provides  for  turning  free  the 
slaves  of  individuals.  And  here  let  me  say 
that  it  is  almost  an  impossibility  to  get  run- 
away slaves  from  the  soldiers  in  Washington. 
And  why  ?  Because  their  comrades  have  been 
killed  in  battle  and  they  honestly  believe  that 
glavpry  is  the  cause  of  the  war.  And  I  tell 
you  the  day  is  approaching  when  the  Northern 
soldier  will  have  no  regard  whatever  for  the 
institution  of  slavery. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  heard  that  same 
thing  asserted  in  ihe  House  of  Representatives 
by  a  member  from  one  of  the  northern  States. 
an  extreme  radical  man  ;  and  Col.  Phelps  got 
up  in  his  place  in  the  House  and  said  he  had 
been  serving  with  northern  men  in  the  army 
and  associa'ing  with  them  in  camp,  and  that 
it  was  the  universal  sentiment,  frequently  ex- 


pressed by  officers  and  men  in  the  northern 
armies,  that  when  they  tuined  this  war  into 
an  anti-slavery  war,  they  would  lay  down 
their  arms.  I  consider  that  authority  unques- 
tionable. [Applause.] 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  have  no  objection  to  the 
gentleman  putting  in  his  remark?,  but  I  do 
object  to  his  making  a  speech.  He  made  one 
remark  which  I  must  allude  to.  He  said  he 
heard  the  remark  made  by  an  extreme  radical 
man  of  the  northern  States.  I  suppose  there 
can  be  no  other  design  in  a  remark  of  that 
sort,  but  I  hope  the  gentleman  does  not  couple 
me  wiih  the  extreme  radical  wing  of  the 
northern  party. 

Mr.  HALL.  I  do  not  consider  the  gentleman 
as  belonging  to  the  class  of  men  alluded  to. 
I  had  no  purpose  in  what  I  said  except  as 
showing  that  it  was  the  sentiment  that  had 
been  uttered  at  Washington,  and  it  did  not 
strike  me  at  the  time  as  instituting  that  com- 
parison, and  I  do  not  class  the  gentleman  that 
way. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Let  me  allude  to  one 
proposition  that  the  gentleman  knows  as  well 
as  I.  There  is  a  military  commander  in  the 
city  of  Washington  named  Wadsworth,  and 
there  is  a  Marshal  of  the  District,  a  Mr.  Lamon. 
The  gentleman  knows  very  well  that  Lamon 
has  been  attempting,  in  good  faith,  backed  up 
by  the  conservative  Kepublicans  and  Border 
State  men,  the  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave 
law,  but  the  military  authorities  and  the  sol- 
diers of  the  city  of  Washington  absolutely 
interfered  wiih  the  civil  duties  of  this  Marshal ; 
and  the  gentleman  is  aware  of  another  fact, 
that  when  the  owners  come  there  after  their 
slaves,  these  military  officers  and  soldiers, 
without  commands,  take  them  and  put  them  in 
jail  for  attempting  to  kidnap,  and  the  Marshal 
of  the  District  then  arrests  the  soldiers;  and 
about  every  Saturday  evening  I  think  they 
exchange  prisoners.  That  is  the  state  of  things 
existing  between  the  civil  and  military  author- 
ities of  Washington.  Tell  me  that  the  military 
authorities  are  not  adverse  to  slavery,  when  I 
see  and  talk  with  Marshal  Lamon  almost  every 
day  about  it !  When  I  see  these  things  almost 
daily,  it  is  not  necessary  to  tell  me  that  the 
prejudice  against  the  institution  of  slavery  is 
decreasing.  I  know  otherwise,  and  I  tell  you 
so.  But  I  do  not  desire  to  prolong  my  remarks 
on  this  subject  at  all,  but  to  say  to  the  people 
of  Misouri  that  in  all  probability,  in  the  course 
of  a  short  time,  their  loyalty  will  be  further 
tested  by  acts  of  Congress.  Gentlemen  may 


101 


say  I  sympathize  with  those  acts  ;  I  tell  you  1 
have  opposed  them  all,  and  my  record  will 
show  I  have  opposed,  and  I  think  successfully 
in  one  branch,  the  bill,  the  direct  effect  of  w'uch 
would  have  released  every  slave  in  the  United 
States  belonging  to  disloyal  men,  and  in  effect 
loyal  men,  because  there  was  a  provision  in  it 
which  made  it  necessary  for  the  owner  to  show 
his  loyalty,  and  that  loyalty  had  to  be  proven 
where  the  slave  was  captured  in  the  northern 
States,  and  he  had  to  show  further  that  he  had 
not  sympathized  with  or  aided  the  rebellion. 
The  result  would  have  been  to  turn  all  the 
slaves  loose ;  and  I  am  not  sure  but  that  bill 
will  yet  pass  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
There  are,  however,  many  good  Republican 
members  there,  who  will  oppose  it  to  the  end. 
But  the  question  presents  itself,  should  such  a 
measure  as  that  be  carried,  and  it  should 
become  apparent  that  the  institution  of  slavery 
in  the  United  States  was  to  be  overthrown,  the 
question  that  comes  up  for  the  practical  de- 
cision of  the  people  of  Missouri  is,  what  we 
shall  do.  I  may  say,  for  one,  that  there  are  no 
circumstances  that  would  induce  mi;  to  invite 
Jackson  back  again  into  the  State  of  Missouri, 
or  permit  rebel  hoides  to  overrun  this  State. 
Sir,  I  have  already  lost  more  by  this  rebellion 
than  ten  times  <he  value  of  all  the  negro  pro- 
perty I  ever  owned  ;  but  if  that  state  of  affairs 
were  to  come  back  again,  does  any  man  doubt 
that  the  property  of  every  loyal  man  would  be 
confiscated,  and  every  loyal  man  compelled  to 
leave  the  State,  by  those  persons  who  would 
return  and  take  possession  of  the  State  of 
Missouri?  What  loyal  man  would  then  have 
any  hope  in  the  Slate  of  Missouri? 

Now,there  are  other  things  in  connection  with 
this  matter.  It  is  not  worth  while  for  us  to  say, 
in  consequence  of  any  attacks  upon  this  or  any 
other  institution,  that  we  intend  to  betray  our 
trust  to  the  Union.  I  know  Congress  has  said 
— I  do  not  know  whether  in  earnest  or  not — 
and  President  Lincoln  has  urged  it  again  and 
again,  that  slavery  stands  in  the  way  of  putting 
down  this  rebellion.  Now,  no  man  can  pretend 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  has  not  so  far  been  kind  to 
the  people  of  the  border  States,  and  to  the 
people  of  the  seceded  S'ates.  No  man  can  lay 
his  finger  upon  any  act  of  the  President  of  tht- 
United  States  that  points  to  the  destruction  t>f 
their  property;  and  if  any  such  act  is  committed 
in  the  future  by  him,  it  will  be  a  mere  incident 
to  what  he  regards  as  his  duty  in  order  to  save 
the  Union  of  the  States.  He  never  will  declare 
the  slaves  of  Missouii  fiee,  but  he  may  be 


required  to  declare  them  free  by  act  of  Con- 
gress, because  measures  are  pending  in  the 
Senate,  and  a  sufficient  number  pledged  to  that 
course,  to  require  the  President  to  issue  a  pro- 
clamation to  the  people  in  rebellion  to  lay  down 
their  arms  j  and  if  they  do  not  in  a  certain 
number  of  days  do  so,  he  will  be  required  to 
declare  the  negroes  free,  and  to  d.o  this  as  a 
means  of  putting  down  the  rebellion  ;  and 
more,  if  the  war  continues  during  the  summer 
months,  not  only  this  will  be  done,  but  a  por- 
tion of  the  slaves  of  the  southern  States  will  be 
armed  and  put  in  charge  of  the  fortresses  in 
the  yellow  fever  districts,  and  the  question  then 
presents  itself,  "  what  are  we  then  to  do  ?"  I 
say  this :  Congress  has  said — I  do  not  know 
whether  in  earnest  or  not — that  if  the  border 
States  are  put  in  jeopardy  in  regard  to  this 
institution,  we  will  pay  them  for  their  slaves. 
We  do  not  desire  to  interfere  with  them,  but 
we  intend  to  put  down  this  rebellion,  and  to 
stop  the  war,  by  the  most  decisive  acts.  We 
intend  to  strike  the  final  blow  with  all  the 
power  that  has  been  given  to  us  by  God  him- 
self. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  have  stated  that  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  people  of  Missouri  to  take 
these  facts  into  consideration,  whether  we  shall 
again  invite  back  disloyal  men,  and  bring  up 
the  horrors  we  have  already  passed  through, 
or  whether  we  will  remain  steadfast,  even 
though  certain  measures  are  adopted  by  Con- 
gress. Now,  everybody  admits  that  the  insti- 
tution of  slavery  has  been  destroyed,  or  that  it 
has  been  greatly  weakened  ;  that  great  injury 
has  not  only  been  done  to  it  in  Missouri,  but 
that  it  stands  now  in  the  rebellious  States  in 
the  most  imminent  danger — indeed,  that  it  is 
just  ready  to  be  overthrown.  Then,  I  say,  if 
there  is  any  danger  in  this  proposition  now 
before  the  House,  it  ought  not  to  be  adopted. 
For  God's  sake  let  it  not  be  adopted,  but  let  us 
act  like  loyal  men;  and  if  slavery  is  to  be  de- 
stroyed in  those  States  that  will  not  yield,  and 
if  they  will  resist  the  power  of  the  United 
States  in  open  rebellion,  while  the  Government 
will  continue  the  war,  and  never  give  up  the 
contest  until  every  inch  of  territory  from  Maine 
to  Texas,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
is  regained,  let  us  remain  loyal,  for  theVeby  we 
protect  the  institution  of  slavery  in  Missouri, 
if  we  so  desire,  when  it  shall  be  dead  and  gone 
in  the  States  of  tbe  South.  I  believe  our  loyalty 
to-day  is  the  only  shelter  slavery  has  in  Mis- 
souri. Now,  Mr.  President,  I  do  not  desire  to 
take  any  further  part  in  this  matter  j  and  I 


102 


would  not  have  made  the  remarks  I  have  but 
for  the  fact  that  I  was  deprived  of  the  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  so  this  morning.  I  have  said 
just  about  as  much  as  I  desired  to  say  this 
morning,  and  having  said  thus  much,  I  will 
conclude  by  saying  I  hope  the  amendment  will 
be  rejected. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  With  regard  to  the 
amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Clinton,  I  have  expressed  myself  on  that  sub- 
ject. It  seems  the  gentleman  from  Clinton  is 
not  opposed  in  principle  to  the  character  of  the 
restrictions  we  are  imposing  on  the  right  of 
suffrage,  or  upon  the  candidates,  for  the  gen- 
tleman informs  us  that  he  might  imagine  a  case 
in  which  he  would  exclude  them — for  instance, 
men  of  the  same  class  as  Governor  Jackson. 
Now,  sir,  I  am  aware  that  there  are  restrictions 
that  would  be  necessary  if  there  was  any  dan- 
ger arising  from  that  source.  It  may  be  that 
Jackson  is  the  worst  of  his  class,  but  he  is  not 
the  only  one  ;  there  are  a  great  many  others — 
the  proportion  of  them  I  do  not  know.  It  is, 
however,  assumed  by  different  gentlemen,  that 
the  number  is  so  inconsiderable  that  it  will  be 
well  to  dispense  with  any  restrictions  upon 
voters.  My  conclusions  are  drawn  in  this  way. 
We  know  there  is  a  class  that  ought  to  be  ex- 
cluded, and  that  that  class  is  numerous.  We 
also  know  there  is  a  class  disloyal  in  the  State, 
and  that  they  ought  not  to  be  permitted  to  hold 
office.  The  question  is,  whal  is  the  safe  course  ? 
We  are  not  adopting  a  permanent  policy,  or 
one  which  will  exclude  these  men  forever  if 
they  hereafter  become  loyal  citizens,  but  one 
which  gives  us  security  for  the  present — a  mere 
temporary  expedient  to  carry  on  the  Govern- 
ment until  we  can  carry  it  on  in  the  ordinary 
channels.  I  therefore  differ  with  the  gentle- 
man, and  I  differ  with  him  in  this,  that  I  am 
fully  determined  to  do  nothing  which  shall 
render  this  Government  insecure,  or  permit  it 
to  again  become  disloyal.  Now,  I  am  doing 
this  from  a  sense  of  duty  and  from  a  conviction 
that  it  is  our  duty,  and  for  our  interest,  to 
remain  associated  with  the  present  Government. 
I  have  always  acted  on  this  principle  from  the 
time  this  rebellion  broke  out.  I  have  not  been 
induced  to  take  the  part  of  the  Union  in  this 
controversy  because  I  was  afraid  the  North 
would  destroy  our  institutions,  and  I  am  not 
now  going  to  be  driven  by  threats — from  what- 
ever source  they  may  come — that  we  are  to  be 
utterly  destroyed  and  devastated  if  we  do  not 
do  as  suits  the  pleasure  of  the  authorities  else- 
where ;  and  I  am  sorry  the  gentleman  should 


have  thought  proper  to  present  this  as  a  motive 
for  our  action.  Now,  sir,  if  we  are  to  be  told 
that  our  country  is  to  be  devastated,  and  that 
we  are  to  be  subjected  to  every  evil  that  war 
can  bring  upon  us,  unless  we  suit  the  con- 
venience of  a  party  in  the  northern  States,  I 
say 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  My  remarks  were  based 
on  what  the  gentleman  from  Clay  said,  that  it 
would  bring  back  disloyal  men  into  office.  Let 
me  ask  the  gentleman  if  Missouri  should  elect 
disloyal  men,  if  he  does  not  believe  the  United 
States  Government  would  drive  them  out  of 
power,  and  that  they  would  bring  their  "hordes-'5 
to  destroy  us? 

Mr.  HALL.  I  do  not  believe  any  such  thing, 
because  the  Convention  will  depose,  as  in 
times  past,  all  disloyal  officers.  I  have  no  idea 
that  the  Government  has  any  such  purpose  as 
this,  and  I  can  see  no  good  likely  to  result 
from  the  intimation  that  such  and  such  a  course 
will  be  pursued  by  the  Government;  on  the 
contrary,  it  seems  to  me  evil  will  result.  The 
business  of  the  Union  men  in  the  State  has 
been  to  deny  the  charges  of  the  secessionists 
that  this  was  the  purpose  of  the  Government. 
But  now  the  gentleman,  if  I  understand  him, 
comes  here  and  reiterates — as  a  man  high  in 
authority  and  having  peculiar  means  of  in- 
formation— the  several  charges  which  the 
secessionists  have  used  to  exasperate  the  peo- 
ple of  this  State,  and  which  they  have  believed. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Who  was  it  that  drove 
Jackson  out  of  Missouri  ?  Was  it  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States? 

Mr.  HALL.     It  was  the  Federal  army. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Then  I  ask  him  if  he 
does  not  believe  the  Federal  army  will  drive 
out  the  traitors  again  ? 

Mr.  HALL.     If  necessary. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Would  he  not  a«k  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  to  do  it? 

Mr.  HALL.  But  I  understand  the  intimation 
is,  that  they  will  avail  themselves  of  that 
opportunity  to  rob  us  of  our  property. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Let  me  correct  the  gen- 
tleman. I  stated  this,  that  if  we  elected  traitors 
to  State  offices — assuming  ihat  the  gentleman 
from  Clay  be  correct — this  state  of  things 
would  probably  occur.  I  say,  when  any  at- 
tempt is  made  on  the  part  of  Missourians  to 
secede,  the  Government  would  interfere  and 
drive  them  from  power,  and  we  are  in  honor 
bound  to  ask  them  to  do  it. 

Mr.  HALL.  And  I  will  say  more,  you  would 
do  right.  But,  Mr.  President,  I  sustain  the 


103 


Government  because  I  think  it  is  the  best  gov- 
ernment, and  because  I  think  those  in  authority 
will  discharge  their  duties  to  us  ;  and  not  for 
the  reasons  that  the  gentleman  gives  out,  that 
we  are  to  have  our  country  destroyed  by  them. 
I  know  their  arguments,  but  I  do  not  desire  to 
be  frightened  into  the  Union  cause  by  threats, 
and  I  want  every  body  to  understand  that  I  am 
not  to  be  actuated  by  fear  in  reference  to  this 
matter. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Will  the  gentleman  per- 
mit  

Mr.  HALL.  On  the  contrary,  I  have  en- 
countered more  danger,  and  other  Union  men 
in  my  part  of  the  State  have  also,  for  sustaining 
the  Federal  Government  than  we  would  if  we 
had  sided,  or  seemed  to  side,  with  the  other 
party.  I  regret  extremely,  therefore,  that  the 
remarks  which  have  just  been  made  should 
come  from  the  source  they  have.  The  gentle- 
man is  in  Washington,  and  has,  as  is  supposed 
and  as  is  true,  favorable  opportunities  for  know- 
ing the  sentiments  of  parties  and  politicians; 
but  I  do  not  believe  he  correctly  announces  the 
purposes  of  the  Government.  I  believe  if  this 
war  is  protracted  it  will  result  in  the  destruction 
of  slavery,  in  a  great  degree,  in  some  of  the 
southern  States,  and  I  know  it  has  already 
resulted  in  the  destruction  of  that  interest  in  a 
part  of  Missouri,  and  I  know  it  has  impaired  it 
all  through  Missouri ;  but  I  deny  that  that  was 
the  purpose  of  the  Government.  I  say  it  was  a 
necessary  incident  to  the  war,  and  as  such  is 
chargeable  to  the  men  who  have  brought  the 
war  upon  us.  That  is  the  way  I  reason  it.  The 
gentleman  says  the  northern  people  will  not 
stand  by  and  see  their  sons  slaughtered  in  con- 
quering the  south,  unless  they  can  get  the 
negroes.  I  tell  you  the  people  of  the  north  have 
no  such  attachment  for  the  negroes  that  they 
are  going  to  barter  the  blood  of  their  sons  for 
them.  I  do  not  claim  to  have  any  peculiar 
knowledge  of  the  northern  States,  except  thro' 
their  representatives,  and  their  representatives 
tell  me  that  the  overwhelming  voice  of  the 
north  is  against  the  policy  of  the  radicals  in 
Congress.  I  believe  it;  and  if  I  believed  that 
the  purpose  of  the  Government  was  to  convert 
this  war  into  an  anti-slavery  war,  I  would  give 
up  all  hope  of  the  Union,  and,  more  than  that, 
I  say  the  Union  ought  to  go.  There  is  one 
thing  worse  than  disunion,  and  that  is  the  con- 
version of  the  whole  Southern  States  into  a 
waste,  peopled  by  brutal  negroes  alone ;  for 
that  would  be  the  effect  of  it. 

In   my  opinion   a  dissolution   of  the  Union 


would  be  preferable  to  a  war  carried  on  for  the 
extermination  of  slavery  in  the  Southern  States, 
for  there  it  would  be  a  question  of  the  extinc- 
tion of  the  white  race  or  the  black,  and  at 
which  humanity  shudders.  Such  is  not  the  case 
with  regard  to  Missouri.  Her  interest  in  that 
question  is  not  so  important ;  and  in  all  con- 
tingencies, in  my  opinion,  the  destiny  of  Mis- 
souri and  her  interests  require  she  should  re- 
main in  the  Federal  Union.  Now,  I  do  not 
wish  it  to  be  supposed,  and  I  hope  no  gentle- 
man here  can  construe  anything  I  say  into  fa- 
voring the  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from 
Clinton.  My  remarks  have  been  callpd  out  by 
the  remarks  of  the  gentleman  from  Pike,  and 
I  thought  it  my  duty— because  I  have  been  in 
the  same  theatre  he  has,  although  acting  in  an 
humbler  capacity — to  correct  an  impression 
that  might  grow  out  of  his  remarks  if  not  no- 
ticed. But  I  am  sincerely  attached  to  the  Un- 
ion. I  believe  it  is  unwise  and  opposed  to  every 
principle  of  right  and  justice  to  endeavor  to 
transfer  Missouri  to  the  Southern  Confederacy. 
[  believe  her  position  is  fixed,  geographically  ; 
I  believe  we  have  the  choice  to  remain  in  our 
own  hands  ;  and  if  we  choose  that  part  which 
most  contributes  to  our  prosperity  and  to  every 
advantage  we  have  in  our  natural  position,  we 
will  be  at  perfect  peace.  I  wish  the  people  of 
Missouri  to  know  that  this  Convention  is  op- 
posed to  having  a  disloyal  Governor.  I  wish 
them  to  know,  further,  that  while  we  have  not 
been  influenced  by  fear,  we  have  been  influenced 
by  a  sense  of  duty,  and  I  feel  and  know  that 
that  sentiment  alone  controls  my  action. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  desire  to  correct  an  im- 
pression which,  I  understand,  has  been  made 
by  my  remarks  on  the  minds  of  some,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  gentleman  from  Randolph.  If  any 
remarks  that  I  have  made  have  been  construed 
into  a  threat  towards  this  Convention,  or  if  it 
be  supposed  that  I  intended  to  say  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  itself  was  prejudiced 
against  the  interests  of  Missouri,  I  wish  it  under- 
stood that  I  did  not  intend  it.  I  did  not  design 
to  say  any  such  thing ;  and  yet,  the  gentleman 
from  Randolph  has  made  his  argument  on  the 
ground  that  I  have  attempted  to  frighten  the 
members  of  this  Convention.  I  simply  design- 
ed to  say  this,  and  I  repeat  it,  that  the  people 
of  Missouri  ought  to  know  the  true  condition 
of  affairs,  and  that  the  Government  of  the  Uni- 
ted State?,  so  far,  has  done  everything  it  could 
to  protect  the  people  of  the  Border  States.  We 
know  these  gentlemen  seceded  on  the  ground 
that  the  institution  of  slavery  was  endangered, 


104 


and  eleven  States  went  out  ;  and  I  remarked 
that  the  five  Border  States,  aided  by  the  conser- 
vative men  of  the  Northern  Stales,  had  so  far 
prevented  the  passage  of  any  bill  whatever  in- 
imical to  the  rights  of  the  people  of  Missouri. 
I  did  say,  and  I  repeat  it,  that  the  necessary 
result  of  this  war  is  to  ruin  the  people  where  ar- 
mies are  kept.  I  appeal  to  the  gentleman  him- 
self, and  I  appeal  to  the  loyal  members  of  this 
Convention,  for  the  last  twelve  months.  Have 
we  not  lost  property  of  every  sort,  and  are  we 
desirous  of  having  the  scenes  of  the  past  re- 
enacted,  as  they  surely  will  be,  and  with  ten- 
fold force,  if  the  Federal  army  is  again  com- 
pelled to  drive  disloyal  men  out  of  the  State? 
The  gentleman  himself  says  the  rebellion  has 
practically  destroyed  slavery  in  the  Southern 
States. 

Mr.  HALL.  I  say  the  war  may  involve  its 
destruction  if  it  is  protracted  very  long.  That 
is  just  what  I  said  ;  and  that  this  would  result 
as  a  necessary  incident  to  the  war. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  That  is  just  what  I  said; 
that  under  the  administration  of  McClellari, 
whom  we  all  recognize  as  friendly  to  the  insti- 
tutions of  the  South,  it  was  impossible  to  keep 
the  slaves  from  running  away,  and  that  the 
banks  of  the  Chesapeake  were  filled  with  run- 
away slaves,  and  that  it  was  irnpossib'e  to  keep 
them  together ;  and  I  intended  to  be  understood, 
not  as  attempting  to  frighten  the  members  of 
this  Convention,  but  as  making  this  statement 
for  their  own  cool  judgment  and  understanding, 
and  to  what  they  may  do  in  the  event  of  the 
passage  of  a  measure  by  Congress  which  is 
considered  necessary  in  the  work  of  putting 
down  this  rebellion.  I  again  repeat,  that,  so 
long  as  the  President  is  Commander-in-Cbief 
of  tbearmies,  he  will  do  everything  in  his  power 
to  protect  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  loyal 
States  ;  but  the  President  may  be  required  to 
declare  the  slaves  free,  especially  in  the  seceded 
States,  and  every  gentleman  can  draw  his  own 
conclusions  as  to  what  will  be  the  result  in  the 
Border  Stales.  Why,  Mr.  Piesident,  the  very 
last  act  I  did  while  at  Washington,  was  to  do 
everything  1  could  to  defeat  the  proposition  to 
tax  slaves  in  the  United  States  ten  dollars  per 
head.  The  proposition  was  defeated,  but  I  see 
it  has  since  been  renewed  and  attached  to  the 
tax  bill — taxing  slaves  two  dollars  per  head. 
Whether  it  will  be  carried 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  The  proposition 
was  defeated  in  the  House  by  a  decided  major- 
ity, after  three  or  four  different  attempts. 


Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  hope  it  will  be  defeated 
again  ;  but  it  is  certain  a  measure  of  that  char- 
acter will  be  adopted  in  the  future. 

Mr.  HALL.  It  was  defeated  in  the  House  on 
the  ground  that  it  violated  a  provision  in  the 
Constitution. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  I  do  not  wish  to  protract 
this  discussion,  Mr.  President.  1  arose  merely 
to  correct  the  impression  which  seemed  to  have 
fastened  itself  on  the  mind  of  the  gentleman 
from  Randolph,  that  I  intended  this  as  a  threat. 
I  desire  to  say,  that  whatever  course  may  be 
adopted  will  not  be  adopted  with  the  view  of 
destroying  any  institution  of  the  loyal  States, 
but  the  necessary  consequence  is  perfectly  ap- 
parent; and  I  merely  intended  to  say  that  if 
disloyalty  got  into  the  State  again,  and  it'  we 
had  to  drive  another  Jackson  out  of  Missouri 
by  Federal  arms,  the  necessary  consequence 
would  be  the  destruction  of  slavery  and  every 
other  kind  of  property  throughout  the  State. 
Have  we  riot  an  example  of  this  ?  Where  is 
Southwest  Missouri  to-day  ?  Almost  literally 
destroyed,  as  if  the  angel  of  destruction  had 
passed  over  it;  and  if  we  again  have  to  go 
through  this  ordeal,  will  not  the  necessary  con- 
sequence be  the  destruction  of  what  is  left? 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  demanded  on  the 
amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Birch,  and  the  vote 
resulted,  ayes  — ,  nays  — . 

So  the  amendment  was  lost. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.) 
I  vote  against  this  amendment  with  the  inten- 
tion of  voting  against  the  amendment  to  which 
this  is  an  amendment. 

Mr.  STEWART.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.) 
The  reason  I  vote  no  is  that  I  am  in  favor  of 
shooting  the  leading  rebels  of  the  State. 

Mr.  COMINGO.  (In  explanation.)  I  wish 
to  explain  my  vote,  in  so  far  as  my  consistency 
in  introducing  an  ordinance  the  other  day  is 
concerned.  When  I  presented  that  ordinance, 
I  was  under  the  impression  that  we  had  consti- 
tutional power  to  prohibit  gentlemen  from 
holding  office  who  have  been  engaged  in  rebel- 
lion. Upon  further  examination  of  that  sub- 
ject, my  views  have  undergone  a  change.  I 
presume  no  gentleman  on  this  floor  would  go 
further  in  restraining  this  rebellion  and  main- 
taining the  Federal  authority  than  myself,  un- 
less there  be  some  who  are  willing  to  transcend 
the  limits  of  the  Constitution.  I  may  be  mis- 
taken, but  I  believe  we  have  no  constitutional 
power  to  prevent  gentlemen  from  holding  office 
who  have  been  guilty  of  disloyal  acts  ;  and  I 
will  remark  here  that  I  wish  to  be  heard  upon 


105 


this  subject  when  the  proper  occasion  presents 
itself. 

Mr.  SHANKLIN.  The  third  section,  as  it 
stands  in  the  ordinance  as  reported,  is  not  clear 
to  my  mind,  as  to  its  constitutionality.  The 
Constitution  has  prescribed  an  official  oath  for 
its  officers,  and  whether  we  can  prescribe  a 
different  oath  is  questionable. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  suggest  to  the  chairman  of 
the  committee  to  insert  after  the  word  "  muni- 
cipal," "  <>r  other  civil  officers." 

Mr.  McFi.RRAN.     I  accept. 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  desire  to  offer  an  amend- 
ment to  the  amendment.  Strike  out  "  nor  have 
given  aid,  assistance  or  encouragement."  My 
object  is  to  let  the  section  stand  so  that  all  who 
have  tiiken  up  aims  shall  not  hold  office,  but 
not  extend  to  thos-e  who  have  given  countenance 
or  encoui  agement  to  the  rebellion.  It  is  going 
into  that  uncertain  sea  to  which  our  attention 
was  directed  ihe  other  day.  My  impression  is, 
we  have  goiie  far  enough  when  we  coi  fine  the 
section  to  those  who  have  taken  up  arms  or 
levied  war.  Both  these  terms  are  sufficient. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Randolph.  I  would  inquire  if 
the  chairman  has  any  objection  to  inserting 
the  word  >k  wilful"  before  "aid." 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.     None  at  all. 

The  PRESIDENT.     It  will  be  so  ordered. 

The  vote  was  taken,  and  the  amendment  was 
lost 

Mr.  COMINGO.  If  in  order,  I  would  like  to 
offer  a  substitute  for  the  whole  bill. 

The  PRESIDENT.     It  is  not  in  order. 

Mr.  WOOLKOLK.  I  propose  to  amend  that 
section  by  striking  out  the  word  "  countenan- 
ced" and  inserting  "given  aid  or  comfoit.:> 
These  wo'ds  have  a  legal  signification,  but  I 
am  not  aware  that  the  word  u  countenanced'1 
has  a  definite  legal  signification. 

Mr.  BHOADHEAD.  I  suggest  to  my  friend 
that  he  might  just  as  well  put  it  in  the  language 
of  the  Constitution,  and  say  "  those  who  have 
adhered  to,  or  given  aid  or  comfort." 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.     I  will  accept  that. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  wish  to  add  this  amend- 
ment. Add,  yf  ler  the  words  in  the  eighth  line, 
"  who  have  always  in  good  faith  opposed  the 
same." 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  suggest  to  the  gentleman 
to  let  the  vote  be  taken  as  it  is,  and  then  it  can 
be  offered.  I  accept  the  amendment. 

Mr.  MEYER.  I  have  an  amendment.  Amend 
by  adding  after  the  word  "  person,'1  in  section 
third,  the  words  "  now  in  office." 


Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  Lope  it  will  not  be 
pressed. 

Mr.  MEYER.     I  withdraw  it. 

The  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  McFerran 
was  then  adopted. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  will  now  offer  a  substitute  for 
the  whole  thing.  I  will  state  that  the  proj  osi- 
tion  is  in  substance  what  I  talked  about  yester- 
day and  to-day — to  have  no  election — to  keep 
the  Provisional  Government  in — and  to  keep 
the  Convention  alive. 

Mr.  BROADHEAD.  It  seems  to  me  a  large 
portion  of  that  bill  is  not  proper,  as  it  differs 
from  the  whole  bill.  It  has  reference  to  another 
specific  thing. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  proposition  before 
the  Convention  is  to  regulate  the  qualifications 
of  voters ;  but  the  matter  is  so  mixed  up  that 
I  will  allow  the  Convention  to  vote  on  this  pro- 
position. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  desire  to  say  a  few  words 
about  this  proposition,  and  I  desire  the  Con- 
vention to  reflect  upon  the  reasons  for  adopting 
or  j ejecting  it.  As  I  understand  it,  we  post- 
pone the  election  of  any  Legislative  body,  and 
the  reason  assigned  is  that  we  are  not  in  a  con- 
dition to  hold  an  election.  Now,  this  question 
was  before  the  Committee  on  Elections,  and 
that  committee  have  not  seen  proper  to  post- 
pone the  elections.  I  fully  concur  with  the 
me-sage  of  the  Governor  in  favor  of  having 
the  Congressional  election  take  place  nearer 
the  time  when  the  members  elect  shall  take 
their  seats;  and  from  what  information  I 
can  obtain,  it  seems  altogether  inexpedient  that 
at  this  time  the  Congressional  election  should 
be  postponed. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  do  not  think  it  refers  to  the 
Congressional  election. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  Very  well.  Then  as- 
suming that  the  Congressional  elections  are  to 
be  held,  you  at  once  settle  the  whole  ques'ion 
of  holding  elections.  If  you  can  hold  a  Con- 
gressionul  election,  what  difficulty  is  th^re  in 
holding  others?  At  any  rate,  in  holding  a 
Congressional  election  we  eucoun'er  a  large 
portion  of  the  difficulties  whit  h  the  gentleman 
seeks  to  avoid.  In  regard  to  the  Legislature, 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  one  should  be 
elected,  for  it  will  be  impossible  for  this  body 
to  act  as  a  Legislature.  We  may  talk  as  much 
as  we  please  about  the  revised  statutes  and 
about  the  Legislature  wasting  the  time  of  the 
people.  Th.it  is  true,  but  I  apprehend  every 
member  here  knows  important  questions  aris- 
ing out  of  this  rebellion  and  already  before 


106 


this  Convention,  will  be  demanding  the  atten- 
tion, which,  as  I  conceive,  it  will  not  be  possi- 
ble for  this  Convention  to  bestow,  and  which 
ought  to  be  settled  by  a  Legislature — questions 
in  regard  to  the  revenue,  and  the  assessment 
and  collection  of  taxes,  banks  and  railroads, 
and  various  other  things  requiring  the  profound 
consideration  of  a  legislative  body  j  and  ques- 
tions which  must  be  settled  before  the  State 
can  be  put  back  in  its  former  position.  All 
these  things  will  press  themselves  upon  the 
minds  of  the  Convention,  and  I  undertake  to 
say  the  Convention  cannot  properly  pass  upon 
them.  I  say,  then,  that  it  is  of  the  highest  im- 
portance that  a  Legislature  be  elected,  provided 
an  election  can  be  held  at  all.  I  believe  it 
can  be,  and  although  restrictions  have  not  been 
adopted  which  I  think  ought  to  be  adopted, 
still  I  think  that  with  the  restrictions  which, 
I  doubt  not,  the  House  will  adopt,  an  election 
can  be  held  in  nearly  every  county  in  the  State. 
I  think  it  is  the  desire  of  the  people  that  a  Le- 
gislature should  be  elected,  and  if  we  are  con- 
vinced that  a  Legislature  can  be  elected,  then 
we  ought  not  to  postpone  such  an  election. 

Mr.  McFERRAisr.  I  rise  for  the  purpose  of 
moving  the  rejection  of  the  amendment,  for 
this  reason,  that  in  voting  on  that  amendment 
we  are  either  compelled  to  vote  for  it  or  vote 
down  the  ordinance  which  has  been  reported 
here,  so  far  as  the  first  section  is  concerned. 
I  do  not  think  the  Convention  can,  in  justice 
to  itself,  vote  on  the  amendment,  and  I  there- 
fore make  the  motion  to  reject. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  motion  to  re- 
ject is  not  in  order. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  will  withdraw  the  mo- 
tion with  the  understanding,  that,  if  the  first 
section  of  the  amendment  is  voted  down,  it 
will  not  prevent  our  taking  up  the  ordinance 
on  this  subject  which  is  now  on  the  table. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  would  not  say  a  word  more 
if  it  were  not  for  the  fact  that  several  members 
have  taken  their  seats  since  I  spoke  on  this 
subject  yesterday.  Now,  sir,  I  think  if  the 
members  of  this  Convention  had  required  any 
evidence  in  the  world  to  satisfy  them  of  the 
propriety  of  the  proposition  I  am  now  making, 
the  discussion  that  has  been  had  here  to-day 
ought  to  have  satisfied  them.  We  see,  sir,  that 
there  has  been  a  struggle  in  this  Convention, 
this  evening,  in  regard  to  fixing  the  restrictions 
upon  the  voters  and  candidates.  We  find  a 
large  number  of  the  members  of  this  Conven- 
tion in  favor  of  removing  all  restrictions  both 
from  the  voters  and  the  candidates,  as  far  as 


any  reference  to  the  past  is  concerned,  and  we 
have  had  a  discussion  this  evening  in  connec- 
tion with  that  subject,  and  remarks  have  been 
made  by  distinguished  gentlemen  bearing  upon 
other  subjects  allied  to  this  that  will  have  great 
influence  on  my  mind  in  determining  the  action 
I  shall  take  in  reference  to  this  matter.  It  has 
been  intimated,  Mr.  President,  that  if  we  adopt 
the  policy  suggested  by  the  gentleman  from 
Clinton,  the  people  would  elect  a  State  Legis- 
lature unfriendly  to  the  Union  and  terrible  con- 
s-quences  would  result  therefrom  ;  and  it  has 
been  intimated  that  members  elected  and  hold- 
ing sentiments  of  that  character,  would  not  be 
permitted  to  take  their  seats  as  members,  but 
that  the  State  would  at  once  be  placed  under 
military  government.  And,  sir,  it  is  useless  to 
attempt  to  shut  our  eyes  against  these  things. 
There  is  a  strong  probability  that  such  would 
be  the  case.  Then,  as  a  matter  of  course,  we 
could  not  have  an  election  without  having  re- 
strictions thrown  around  our  voters  and  candi- 
dates that  would  insure  the  election  of  loyal 
men.  These  restrictions  have  been  looked  upon 
as  an  absolute  necessity  in  case  of  an  election. 
A  large  number  of  the  members  of  this  Con- 
vention have  opposed  these  restrictions  here 
to-day  by  votes  and  speeches,  and  it  will  be 
wholly  impracticable  to  have  an  election  with 
no  sort  of  restrictions;  and  if  we  undertake  to 
have  an  election  with  restrictions  either  upon 
the  voter  or  candidate,  it  will  be  unsatisfactory 
to  the  people.  They  will  not  look  upon  it  as 
an  election.  They  will  look  upon  it  as  an  at- 
tempt to  elect  men  of  a  certain  class  to  office? 
and  to  put  the  State  under  the  control  of  men 
holding  certain  sentiments,  and  the  difficulties 
and  dangers  that  will  arise  among  the  people 
growing  out  of  these  restrictions,  in  my  hum- 
ble opinion,  will  be  very  great.  The  proposi- 
tion that  I  offer,  then,  is  this.  If  the  people  are 
not  in  a  condition  to  vote  without  restrictions, 
they  ought  not  to  have  any  election.  If  the 
country  is  in  danger,  there  should  be  no  elec- 
tion held.  I  am  opposed  to  it,  and  for  that 
reason  I  have  offered  my  substitute;  and  I 
would  say  to  gentlemen  here  to-day  who  have 
been  in  favor  of  removing  restrictions,  that  it 
will  be  far  more  acceptable  to  their  constitu- 
ents, as  I  know  it  will  be  to  mine,  to  have  no 
election,  but  to  keep  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment in,  and  this  Convention  by  taking  such 
action  will  strengthen  its  hold  upon  the  affec- 
tions of  the  State  of  Missouri.  I  believe  the 
action  of  this  Convention,  upon  the  questions 
of  great  vital  interest  that  have  been  brought 


107 


up  before  it,  will  demonstrate  to  the  people  of 
Missouri  that  it  is  a  conservative  body,  and 
that  we  are  for  the  Constitution  and  the  Union 
under  it.  In  short,  Mr.  President,  I  do  not  see 
that  the  adoption  of  the  policy  I  have  proposed 
can  result  otherwise  than  beneficially  to  the 
people  under  the  circumstances  that  now  sur- 
round us.  I  think  this  matter  will  he  apparent 
to  every  one.  No  Union  man  can  reasonably 
object  to  this  state  of  affairs.  All  that  the 
Union  men  in  the  State  of  Missouri  can  ask  is, 
that  the  State  shall  be  kept  in  the  hands  of 
loyal  men  ;  and  I  would  say  to  gentlemen  in 
this  Convention  who  may  represent  constitu- 
ents who  have  heretofore  been  unfriendly  to 
the  Union — for  I  desire  to  talk  now  to  all  par- 
ties—and I  say,  that,  to  those  who  have  been 
favoring  what  is  termed  the  Southern  cause, 
this  arrangement  would  be  more  acceptable. 
It  is  to  reconcile  the  people  everywhere.  The 
war  is  now  ended,  I  presume,  as  far  as  Mis- 
souri is  concerned,  and  the  great  object  now  is 
to  get  the  people  back  upon  friendly  terms 
with  each  other.  Then,  Mr.  President,  if  you 
would  accomplish  that  great  end,  do  not  at- 
tempt to  have  an  election  with  restrictions 
thrown  around  it  that  will  favor  the  election  of 
one  party  in  the  State  more  than  another.  We 
should  have  no  elections  until  we  can  have 
them  under  the  old  order  of  things  Keep 
your  Provisional  Government  in,  and  keep  this 
Convention  in  as  a  legislative  power,  if  any 
legislation  is  required.  The  members  of  this 
Convention  were  elected  at  a  time  when  the 
people  were  sane  enough  to  look  at  the  ques- 
tion in  all  its  bearings,  and  they  elected  men 
in  whom  they  had  confidence.  For  a  time  that 
confidence  may  have  been  withdrawn  from  the 
Convention.  It  may  have  been  lost  by  a  por- 
tion of  the  people  of  Missouri,  and  they  may 
for  a  time  have  been  very  hostile  to  it,  but 
these  bitter  feelings  have  given  way  and  are 
continuing  so  to  do  as  the  work  of  this  Provi- 
sional Government  is  understood  and  justly 
appreciated.  And  I  tell  you  it  will  continue 
to  grow  in  favor  with  the  people,  and  we  may 
look  forward  with  hope  that  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  we  can  once  more  throw  the  polls 
open  and  have  a  free  and  untrammeledelection; 
but  if  you  undertake  to  have  an  election  now 
with  these  restrictions  thrown  around  it,  I  be- 
lieve it  will  be  attended  with  evils  from  which 
the  State  will  not  recover  for  a  long  time.  I 
say  that  all  the  good  that  could  be  achieved 
by  having  an  election,  can  be  achieved  by  keep- 
ing the  Provisional  Government  and  this  body 


in  existence  ;  and,  believing  that  to  be  the  fact, 
I  recommend  such  a  course  in  preference  to 
having  an  election  under  the  circumstances  that 
must  necessarily  surround  us  if  an  election 
is  attempted  to  be  held. 

Mr.  ORR.  As  this  is  of  a  good  deal  of  im- 
portance and  as  many  still  desire  to  speak,  I 
move  an  adjournment. 

The  motion  was  lost. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  desire  to  make  one  further  re- 
mark. The  last  clause  of  the  ordinance  that  I 
offered  provides  for  the  qualification  of  voters. 
It  was  suggested  by  the  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis  that  an  election  for  Congress  would  ne- 
cessarily have  to  take  place. 

Mr.  LEEPER.  I  shall  support  the  substitute 
and  will  give  some  of  my  reasons  for  so  doing. 
I  may  vote  for  the  ordinance  as  reported  by  the 
committee,  but  if  I  do,  it  will  be  because  I  can 
do  no  better.  As  I  remarked  yesterday,  I  am 
opposed  to  test  oaths.  Now,  I  do  not  know 
whether  any  member  on  this  floor  doubts  my 
loyalty,  but  I  do  not  wish  to  see  so  many  test 
oaths  put  forward,  and  to  avoid  that  I  would 
rather  see  the  election  put  off  and  let  the  Pro- 
visional Government  go  on  as  it  has  for  the 
past  year.  There  is  another  thing.  Under  the 
ordinance,  as  reported  by  the  committee,  de- 
signing men  can  go  forth  as  wolves  in  sheep's 
clothing,  and  claiming  to  be  loyal  men,  can 
work  upon  the  sympathies  of  the  people  and 
get  into  office.  Taking  all  these  things  into 
consideration,  I  would  rather  see  the  election 
put  off  until  1864. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  addressed  the  Convention 
yesterday  on  the  main  proposition  as  contained 
in  the  substitute  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Clay,  and  the  substitute,  as  offered  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  Clay,  is  made  up  of  an  ordinance 
reported  by  a  majority  of  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  and  of  another  ordinance  reported 
by  myself  as  a  minority  of  the  same  committee. 
I  do  not  desire  at  this  time  to  go  into  a  discus- 
sion to  show  the  complications  and  embarrass- 
ments that  will  grow  up  out  of  an  election, 
and  which  must  occur  at  this  time  under  any 
system  of  oaths  that  can  be  devised  by  the  wit 
of  man.  I  talked  sufficiently  yesterday,  but 
there  is  one  idea  that  I  desire  to  advance  to 
the  Convention  that  I  did  not  yesterday,  and 
that  is  this.  That  an  election  presupposes  an 
expression  of  the  will  of  the  people,  and  that 
that  election,  when  it  occurs,  will  be  abided 
by.  Now,  Mr.  President,  let  me  ask,  if  this 
election,  if  it  should  occur,  will  not  have  to  be 
made  efficacious  by  the  sword  at  last  ?  Sup- 


108 


pose  that  Jackson  was  back  here,  supported 
by  his  present  Major-General  of  the  Confede- 
rate States,  and  obtains  power  again  in  the 
State  of  Missouri,  and  finds  here  a  Government 
elected  by  a  portion  of  the  people  under  the 
enactment  of  the  test  oaths  of  this  Convention, 
will  not  such  a  Government  be  scattered  from 


be  somewhat  familiar  with  our  statutory  1  \ws3 
and  I  undertake  to  say  that  nothing  is  required 
in  the  statutes,  that  I  know  of,  so  important 
as  to  make  it  necessary  to  run  the  risks  and 
hazards  that  will  follow  an  election  at  this 
time.  There  are  no  reasons  outside  of  the 
statutes.  As  remarked  yesterday,  by  the  At- 


this  capitol  and  driven  from  the  State  ?  Would  •  torney-General  of  the  State,  there  has  been 
they  not  be  hung,  sir,  and  otherwise  punished?  jtoo  much  legislation.  He  who  has  the  confi- 
I  suppose  no  gentleman  would  pretend  to  say  dence  of  the  loyal  men  and  the  Government 
that  such  would  not  be  the  case.  Suppose,  on  I  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  who  is  the  law 
the  contrary,  that  gentlemen  supposed  to  have  I  exponent  of  the  State,  and  who  is  supposed  to 
Southern  proclivities,  under  any  contingency  i  ^e  familiar  with  the  statutory  law  of  the  State, 
of  State  affairs  that  could  be  imagined,  were  ;  has  given  it,  sir,  as  his  opinion,  and  upon  his 
to  be  elected  in  this  State,  would  the  Federal  responsibility  as  a  member  of  this  Convention 


authorities  permit  the  inauguration  of  such  a 
Government,  or  the  assembling  of  such  a  Le- 
gislature, or  the  qualification  of  such  officers 
of  the  State?  Most  assuredly  it  would  not. 
The  good  sense  of  every  gentleman  in  this  hall 
will  teach  him  the  correctness  of  the  proposi- 
tion I  lay  down.  If  that  be  the  case,  then 
there  can  be  no  election  in  this  State  that  the!  the  risk  of  the  troubles  and  dangers  growing 
people  will  freely  acquiesce  in,  and  it  is  there-  out  of  an  election  at  this  time?  I  should  like 

gentlemen   to   point   out  to  me,  if   they  can, 


and  as  a  law  officer  of  the  State,  that  there  is 
no  legislation  that  is  necessary  at  the  present 
time,  as  far  as  our  great  municipal  machinery 
is  concerned.  Then  is  there  any  legislation  of 
a  political  nature  or  consideration  so  important 
and  so  urgent  as  to  justify  us  in  incurring  the 
expenses  of  a  folly  of  that  kind,  and  also  run 


fore  a  question  of  bayonets  and  bullets.  It  is 
the  military  and  not  the  ballot-box  that  is  to 
determine  the  matter.  Then,  if  the  ballot-box 
is  not  efficacious,  if  it  is  dependent  upon  the 
power  of  the  Federal  Government,  then  I  am 
unwilling  that  we  should  biing  upon  us  the 
trouble  that  will  occur  in  the  State  of  Missouri 
under  any  arrangement  for  the  holding  of  an 
election  at  this  time.  Let  me  appeal  to  loyal 
men  here — let  me  appeal  to  gentlemen  who  are 
friends  of  the  Union — let  me  appeal  to  gentle- 
men who  look  upon  slavery  as  having  no  con- 
nection with  the  Union,  as  I  do — let  me  appeal 
to  every  gentleman  to  say  where  is  the  neces- 
sity of  further  complicating  our  difficulties  in 
Missouri.  Sir,  have  not  nine-tenths  of  the 
loyal  men  of  Missouri  full  confidence  in  the 
Government  we  inaugurated  in  July  last?  I 
apprehend  no  gentleman  will  arise  here  and 
say  that  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  that  Govern- 
ment to  administer  the  affairs  of  State.  If  that 
Government  has  the  confidence  of  the  loyal 
people  and  they  believe  it  sufficient  to  carry 
on  the  affairs  of  State,  is  it  not  competent  to 
appoint  sheriffs,  coroners,  county  court  justi- 
ces, and  do  everything  necessary  until  we  can 
start  the  whetls  of  Government  once  more.  I 
apprehend  it  is.  It  is  contended,  however, 
that  the  election  of  a  Legislature  is  necessary 
at  this  time.  Now,  sir,  I  have  practised  law 
some  little  in  this  State.  I  have  been  a  prac- 
tising lawyer  for  twenty  years  and  I  profess  to 


where  the  urgency  of  legislation  is  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  and  what  are  the  items  pressing  upon 
us  with  such  force. 

The  gentleman  tells  us  that  our  railroad  sys- 
tem is  out  cf  gear,  and  that  some  leg  sla'ive 
action  will  be  nec«ssary  in  reference  to  it.  It 
may  be  so,  but  our  Governor  has  not  so  in- 
formed us.  I  have  not  heard  it  outside  this 
body.  I  have  heard  it  from  no  other  source 
than  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis.  P  these 
roads  have  been  forfeited,  I  apprehend  we  are 
not  called  to  keep  them  in  running  order.  The 
Federal  Government  will  do  it  until  the  rebel- 
lion is  suppressed,  as  heretofore.  It  is  a  mat- 
ter of  absolute  necessity  that  the  General  Gov- 
ernment should  keep  the  roads  in  running 
order,  and  they  will  see  to  it  that  they  are  kept 
in  good  condition.  And,  sir,  if  we  h  >ve  that 
guarantied  and  secured  to  us  as  a  military  ne- 
cessity, where  is  the  necessity,  in  the  present 
disturbed  condition  of  the  money  market  of 
this  country,  and  in  the  face  of  this  rebellion, 
and  in  the  face  of  difficulties  of  every  kind,  of 
throwing  our  roads  into  the  market  by  a  sort 
of  bob-tailed  Legislature,  if  you  please,  to  be 
sold  we  know  not  to  whom  ?  For  one,  I  pro- 
test against  it.  We  are  looking  to  the  time 
when  we  will  all  be  loyal  in  this  country,  and 
when  we  can  all  legislate  harmoniously  to. 
gether. 

Sir,  these  railroads  belong  to  all  classes  in 


109 


this  State,  and  so  important  a  step,  involving 
the  S^ate  to  the  extent  of  twenty-five  millions 
of  dollars,  should  not  be  taken  ;  and  these  roads 
•hould  not  be  thrown  into  the  market,  and  en- 
dangered without  the  concurrence  of  all  the 
people,  who  have  helped  to  foot  the  bill.  Now, 
the  only  thing  the  gentleman  has  pointed  out 
as  showing  the  necessity  of  calling  the  Legis- 
lature, is  to  devise  means  for  facilitating  the 
collection  of  the  revenue.  The  gentleman  has 
not  condescended  to  point  out  in  what  particular 
our  revenue  system  requires  legislation.  I 
have  not  scrutinized  that  matter  closely,  bat  I 
apprthend  that  we  have  a  law  on  our  statute 
book  now  that  applies  to  next  year  and  the 
year  after,  in  reference  to  the  levies  for  the 
support  of  the  Government  ;  and  I  apprehend 
that  the  law  provides  collecting  officers  for  the 
revenue,  and  if  there  are  any  little  details  of 
legislation  necessary  in  connection  with  this 
matter,  this  body  is  amply  qualified  to  provide 
for  them.  I  apprehend  this  Convention  is 
fully  competent  to  attend  to  all  matters  of 
legislation  that  will  be  required. 

We  have  districted  the  State,  and  provided 
for  an  election  for  Congressmen.  There  will 
be  no  necessity  for  the  Convention  to  assemble 
to  elect  Senators  of  the  United  States,  as  we  are 
fully  represented  in  that  body,  and  that  repre- 
sentation will  hold  their  seats  for  the  next  one 
or  two  years. 

I  have  hastily  run  over  the  reasons  which  I 
•upposed  would  be  urged  for  an  election  in 
August  next,  and  the  reasons  which  would  be 
urged  for  the  election  of  sheriffs  and  other  in- 
ferior officers,  and  I  have  attempted  to  meet 
these  objections  j  and  I  lay  down  the  broad 
declaration  here  that  the  suspension  of  the 
elections  prescribed  under  the  Constitution,  as 
it  now  stands,  will  produce  no  break  in  any  de- 
partment of  the  Government.  It  is  on  the 
right  track,  and  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  let  it 
remain  there,  and  not  run  any  risks  in  switch- 
ing it  off.  Sir,  suppose  a  Legislature  should 
be  elected  not  satisfactory  to  the  powers  at 
Washington.  What  would  be  the  conse- 
quence? Would  there  not 'be  a  conflict  be- 
tween the  Government  and  the  civil  authorities 
of  the  State,  and  Missouri  would  be  governed 
by  military  power  as  Tennessee  is  governed 
to-day  ? 

Mr.  President,  I  am  a  Missourian.  I  have 
lived  here  twenty-seven  years.  I  came  here  a 
boy,  and  I  know  no  other  State  'and  feel  no 
other  interest  than  as  I  am  connected  with  this 
State  and  as  this  State  is  connected  with  me. 


I  have  some  property  and  a  large  family 
linked  with  the  destinies  of  this  State.  Some 
of  them  are  buried  in  the  soil  of  Missouri,  and 
I  expect  to  repose  there  myself.  I  can  have 
no  other  desire  than  to  live  here,  for  as  the 
State  goes  I  must  go,  and  all  would  go  that  is 
near  and  dear  to  me.  When,  therefore,  a 
question  so  vital  as  the  present  is  presented, 
we  have  no  right  to  endanger  the  safety  of  the 
State  by  running  risks,  or  indulging  in  experi- 
ments. I  appeal,  then,  to  gentlemen  who  have 
the  interests  and  welfare  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri at  heart  as  I  have,  and,  as  I  suppose,  each 
and  every  member  of  this  Convention  has.  I 
appeal  to  them  to  pause  and  reflect  deliberately 
before  casting  their  votes  for  a  measure  which 
may  again  desolate  the  State  with  civil  war. 
I  appeal  to  them  to  run  no  risks  that  will  bring 
about  such  a  result. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  regret  exceedingly  ex- 
treme rashness  in  debate.  The  speech  of  my 
colleague  upon  the  committee,  when  it  goes 
forth  to  Ihe  State,  will  create  the  impression, 
in  all  probability,  that  the  voters  of  this  State 
are  to  be  disfranchised.  Now,  the  proposition 
for  which  the  gentleman  has  offered  an  amend- 
ment or  substitute,  contains  no  provision  for 
disfranchising  any  citizen  of  the  State.  I  say, 
sir,  that  this  extreme  manner  of  expression, 
that  conveys  a  false  impression  upon  the  coun- 
try, is  doing  us  more  harm  than  any  legislation 
that  will  be  accomplished  by  this  body.  To-day 
I  listened  to  a  speech  which,  I  fear,  will  create 
the  impression,  when  it  goes  over  the  S'ate, 
that  there  is  danger  of  the  Union  men  of  the 
State  rising  in  rebellion  against  the  constituted 
authorities  of  the  nation  on  this  negro  ques- 
tion. The  idea,  sir,  is  preposterous.  I  do  not 
suppose  that  the  speaker  contemplated  that 
such  an  impression  would  be  made  on  the 
masses  of  the  S'ate,  but  I  fear  that  such  an 
impression  will  be  made.  Now,  sir,  I  appre- 
hend there  is  no  danger  that  the  Union  men  of 
the  State  are  going  into  rebellion  against  the 
constituted  authorities  of  the  nation  on  account 
of  the  negro  question.  Neither,  sir,  do  I 
apprehend  that  if  the  election  is  held  there  will 
be  a  solitary  voter  disfranchised  in  this  State. 
Then,  sir,  if  no  man  is  to  be  disfranchised,  I 
would  like  to  know  of  gentlemen,  when  they 
talk  about  the  freedom  of  elections,  what  they 
mean  ?  We  do  not  propose  to  disfranchise 
anybody,  but  it  is  proposed  to  prevent  men  who 
have  engaged  in  this  rebellion  from  holding 
office  in  this  State  during  the  continuance  of 
the  present  war  j  and  the  gentleman  says,  be- 


110 


cause  we  do  that,  the  effect  of  it  is  to  destroy 
the  freedom  of  election.  I  say  it  is  not  so,  but 
that  the  effect  of  it  is  to  destroy  and  prevent 
crime.  That  is  all.  Shall  we  be  told,  when 
an  effort  is  made  to  prevent  rebellion  in  the 
State,  that  that  is  disturbing  the  freedom  of 
election?  I  think  not,  sir.  But  it  has  been 
asked,  here  upon  this  floor,  "where  is  the  neces- 
sity of  a  legislative  body?  If  the  Convention 
continues  in  power,  and  the  present  Governor, 
Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State, 
why  should  not  all  the  elections  be  postponed?" 
I  will  tell  you,  Mr.  President,  why  the  elections 
should  not  be  postponed.  The  finances  of 
Missouri,  her  revenue,  the  source  of  her  exist- 
ence, require  legislation  of  the  most  careful 
character  and  of  the  most  laborious  kind. 
Forty  counties  only  in  the  State  have  paid  in 
their  revenue  for  the  past  year.  The  men  who 
have  undertaken  the  collection  of  the  revenue 
will  need  relief;  for  if  the  revenue  law  is  to  be 
carried  out  as  it  now  stands,  it  would  ruin  every 
Sheriff  in  the  State;  many  are  now  deterred 
from  collecting  the  revenue,  under  the  impres- 
sion that  it  would  ruin  them  if  the  laws  were 
enforced.  I  would  ask  gentlemen  how  they 
expect  to  carry  on  this  Government  and  leave 
the  revenue  of  the  State  uncollected?  As  the 
law  now  stands,  but  few  men  will  undertake 
its  collection  ;  and  those  who  have  undertaken 
it  are  trembling  for  fear  the  provisions  of  the 
revenue  law  will  be  enforced. 

And  yet,  the  election  is  to  be  postponed. 
They  say  we  should  have  no  election  for  the 
Legislature,  because  it  would  bring  on  a  con- 
flict at  the  polls.  I  tell  you,  Mr.  President, 
we  need  an  election  for  political  reasons  of 
great  importance.  Those  who  have  figured  in 
the  rebellion  in  the  State  have  always,  with  a 
bold  front,  proclaimed  they  were  a  majority  of 
the  people  of  the  State.  A  test  of  that  char- 
acter, as  to  where  the  majority  is,  whether  for 
or  against  the  Government,  will  do  much  good, 
and  show  the  minority  that  has  inaugurated 
this  rebellion,  the  enormity  of  their  crime. 
But  it  is  asked,  "why  not  elect  a  Governor, 
Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State, 
if  we  elect  a  Legislature?"  I  will  give  as  a 
reason,  that  the  Governor  is  commander  in 
chief  of  the  militia ;  that  he  is  the  chief  ex- 
ecutive officer  in  the  State;  and  that  if  an  elec- 
tion is  held  for  these  officers,  it  is  to  be  held  all 
through  the  State;  and  yet,  in  many  localities, 
perhaps  a  fair  and  full  expression  of  the  people 
could  not  be  had.  Another  reason  why  there 
should  not  be  a  general  election  now  is,  that 


the  tendency  to  intemperate  remarks,  the  ten- 
dency to  misrepresentation  in  debate,  and  the 
thirst  for  power,  is  so  great  as  to  lead  men  to 
cater  to  every  prejudice  and  inflame  every 
passion ;  and  the  people  of  this  State  should 
not  be  approached  in  this  way  at  this  time.  I 
am,  therefore,  in  favor,  as  the  report  of  the 
committee  shows,  of  continuing  the  present 
State  officers,  and  electing  all  others.  Another 
reason  why  we  should  have  an  election  now  is, 
that  we  should  get  rid  of  the  military  authori- 
ties just  as  soon  as  possible.  It  will  be  a  happy 
day  for  Missouri,  sir,  when  there  is  no  military 
force  within  its  boundaries.  Do  you  rely  upon 
the  military  Government  instead  of  the  civil 
authorities ;  and  are  we  to  teach  the  people 
that  they  must  no  longer  take  an  interest  in 
the  civil  Government,  and  that  the  burdens  of 
government  no  longer  rest  upon  them,  but  upon 
the  military  authorities  ?  I,  for  one,  am  op- 
posed to  schooling  my  constituents  in  that  way. 
If  it  is  believed  by  a  majority  of  the  Convention 
that  the  State  officers  can  be  safely  elected  now, 
then,  sir,  I  would  say  elect  them.  But,  at  all 
events,  elect  our  members  of  Congress,  Legis- 
lators, Clerks,  Sheriffs,  and  other  minor  officers. 

I  heard  it  remarked,  I  believe  on  yesterday, 
that  some  supposed  that  half  of  our  people 
were  crazy,  and  that  others  thought  all  of  them 
were  mad.  Another  gentleman  made  the  re- 
mark that  others  thought  some  of  them  were  in 
a  trance  ;  but,  be  that  as  it  may,  I  believe  none 
of  our  people  are  crazy  or  half  crazy,  or  in  a 
trance.  I  believe  our  people  are  capable  of 
governing  themselves  if  you  will  only  give 
them  an  opportunity. 

Mr.  President,  no  State  ever  required  more 
financial  legislation  than  ours.  But  it  may  be 
said  that  the  Convention  can  do  the  legislation 
just  as  well  as  the  Legislature.  This  proposi- 
tion I  deny.  This  body  is  not  a  legislative 
body ;  it  was  not  elected  for  that  purpose  ;  and 
it  is  quite  impossible  for  the  members  of  this 
Convention  to  assume  the  duties  of  ordinary 
legislation.  This  is  the  fourth  time  we  have 
met,  and  we  have  always  refused  to  go  into 
ordinary  legislation.  Hence,  I  am  in  favor  of 
electing  a  Legislature  fresh  from  the  people, 
and  that  will  take  into  consideration  the  great 
interests  of  the  State,  and  discharge  their  duties 
to  the  State. 

Mr.  McCoRMACK.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that 
there  is  nothing  that  can  be  done  that  will  be 
more  conducive  to  the  peace  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  than  to  let  the  people  elect  their  of- 
ficers for  their  own  government.  We  are  told, 


Ill 


Mr.  President,  by  some  gentlemen  that  we  wil 
produce  a  great  amount  of  irritation  by  test 
oaths.  What  irritation  can  this  oath  produce 
in  the  minds  of  loyal  men  ?  I  see  nothing  in 
the  world  calculated  to  irritate  loyal  men  by 
taking  this  oath.  I,  sir,  am  in  favor  of  re- 
stricting the  people  of  Missouri,  but  at  the 
same  time  I  do  not  wish  to  debar  any  man 
from  the  polls.  Mr.  President,  there  is  no  fear, 
in  my  mind,  about  the  propriety  of  this  thing. 
I  am  fully  convinced  that  if  we  put  proper 
restrictions  around  the  polls,  as  we  should  do, 
the  people  will  elect  their  own  law-givers,  and 
that  of  itself  will  go  far  towards  restoring  the 
peace  of  Missouri.  I  do  not  think  the  people 
should  object  to  safeguards.  A  large  number 
of  the  people  are  friends  of  the  rebellion. 
There  are  men  in  the  country  who  were  array- 
ed in  a  war  for  desolating  our  State,  and  they 
have  filled  the  State,  from  one  end  to  the  other, 
with  the  wail  of  the  widow  and  the  cry  of  the 
orphan.  J  am  not  in  favor  of  these  men  hold- 
ing office.  I  think  that  men  who  have  been 
engaged  in  rebellion  against  the  Government 
should  not  be  allowed  to  hold  office;  and  I 
think  the  voters  should  not  be  allowed  to  vote 
for  such  men,  who  have  been  guilty  of  such 
unlawful  acts.  Now,  there  are  a  great  many 
gentlemen  who  seem  to  be  remarkably  fearful 
that  we  are  going  to  do  a  great  amount  of  mis- 
chief. I  fear  we  shall  do  mischief  by  refusing 
to  act  as  the  exigencies  of  the  times  demand. 
There  is  no  higher  privilege  than  that  of  the 
elective  franchise.  If  we  continue  ourselves 
in  existence,  we  usurp  powers  that  properly 
belong  to  1he  people,  and  we  should  let  them 
elect  officers  to  suit  themselves.  I  admit  the 
present  Government  of  Missouri  has  done  an 
immense  amount  of  good  in  the  State;  but  I 
believe  now  is  the  time  for  us  to  take  ourselves 
out  of  existence,  and  to  commit  to  the  people 
the  trust  of  their  own  liberties,  by  allowing 
them  to  elect  officers  to  make  laws  for  them. 
I  hope,  Mr.  President,  that  this  subject  will  be 
calmly  reflected  upon  before  any  final  action 
is  taken. 

Mr.  PIPKIN.  I  desire  to  say  only  a  few 
words — not  to  discuss  the  merits  of  the  propo- 
sition, for  that  has  been  ably  done  by  abler 
men, — but  simply  to  say,  sir,  that  I  am  in  this 
Convention  actuated  by  the  same  motives  which 
actuated  me  in  the  previous  sessions  of  the  Con- 
vention. At  the  July  term  of  this  body,  the 
proposition  was  made  to  bring  the  elections  on 
in  September.  I  opposed  it;  but  the  elections 
were  postponed  until  November.  Again,  at 


the  October  session,  th*  proposition  was  intro- 
duced to  postpone  the  elections  until  August, 
and  I  supported  it  for  the  reason  that,  at  the 
time  we  were  in  session,  I  was  satisfied  in  my 
own  mind  that  the  people  were  not  in  a  condi- 
tion to  go  to  the  polls,  and  vote  quietly  and 
dispassionately,  as  in  former  times.  I  am  still 
of  the  opinion,  sir,  that  an  election  brought  on 
in  August  would  result  in  evil  instead  of  good, 
and  with  that  understanding,  I  am  free  to  ad- 
mit that  I  am  willing  to  retain  the  present  Pro- 
visional Government  in  power — to  retain  them 
in  power  sufficiently  long  to  enable  the  people 
to  go  to  the  polls  and  choose  those  whom  they 
wish  to  serve  them,  and  to  choose  them  under 
circumstances  that  cannot  be  claimed  to  be  a 
partial  or  one-sided  election.  Now,  in  my  por- 
tion of  the  State,  there  are  many  counties 
which  have  neither  sheriff,  clerk,  or  coroner. 
I  have  not  heard  of  any  appointments  made  in 
Southeast  Missouri  by  the  present  Provisional 
Government,  and  consequently  these  counties 
are  without  these  officers.  No  poll  books  can 
be  made  out  for  them,  and  no  election  can  be 
held  there.  Now,  if  there  shall  be  an  election 
in  August,  our  proceedings  cannot  be  publish- 
ed to  go  out  into  the  State,  and  especially  in 
my  part  of  the  State,  because  there  are  no 
mails ;  so  that  the  citizens  will  be  unable  to 
know  whether  there  is  an  election  or  not.  I 
corresponded  with  Thomas  B.  English  of  Cape 
Girardeau  last  November,  and  only  a  week  be- 
fore I  came  to  this  Convention  he  informed 
me  that  he  had  just  received  my  letter  !  Only 
six  months  !  So,  it  is  impossible  for  a  large 
portion  of  Southeast  Missouri  to  be  heard  in 
an  election ;  consequently  no  representatives 
to  the  Legislature  can  be  elected  from  that  part 
of  the  State  who  will  reflect  the  will  of  the 
people. 

But  I  have  another  reason,  sir,  for  desiring 
to  postpone  this  election.  It  is  that  the  people 
are  beginning  to  quiet  down,  and  are  becoming 
satisfied  with  the  present  Provisional  Govern- 
ment. Heretofore,  many  citizens — many  Un- 
ion men,  (and  when  I  speak  of  Union  men,  I 
speak  of  those  who  have  always  been  so,  in 
contradistinction  to  Southern  sympathizers) — 
condemned  the  action  of  this  body,  on  the 
ground  that  it  ought  to  have  been  done  by  the 
people,  and  that  the  Convention  ought  to  have 
been  elected^for  that  purpose ;  but  they  are 
now  becoming  satisfied  that  the  Provisional 
Government  has  worked  well ;  that  the  wheels 
are  running  with  tolerable  smoothness,  and 
that  the  business  of  the  State  is  being  proper- 


112 


ly  conducted,  and  its  dignity  preserved,  and 
they  are  at  la-t  willing  to  submit  to  it  until 
such  period  of  time  as  they  can  have  their  elec- 
tion, and  choose  loyal  men  and  not  secessionists 
to  serve  them.  Sir,  another  reason  which  I 
have  for  desiring  a  postponement  is  that  there 
is  to  be  sprung  upon  the  people  of  this  Sta'e. 
at  this  coining  election,  if  it  shall  take  place, 
that  pestiferous  negro  question  which  has  been 
voted  dow.i  by  such  a  decided  majority  of  this 
Convention.  Let  those  men  who  expect  to 
hold  fat  offices  under  this  emancipation  scheme 
be  disappointed,  and  the  people  will  be  quieted 
down  and  go  to  work  as  in  former  times.  But 
if  this  ordinance  is  voted  down,  this  question 
will  be  forced  on  the  people,  and  we  will  be  in 
a  broil  throughout  the  State.  For  that  rea>on 
I  am  opposed  to  having  an  election.  I  am  op- 
posed to  test  oaths.  I  only  desire  men  to  sup- 
port the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
of  the  State  of  Missouri;  and  when  they  have 
done  th-.it,  if  they  will  perjure  themselves  on 
that  oaih,  they  will  perjure  themselves  upon 
all  the  oaths  you  can  bring  forward.  I  say, 
then,  1  am  opposed  to  prescribing  to  the  voter 
or  candidate  the  test  oaths  that  have  been  pro- 
posed here.  I  desire  nothing  more  than  that 
he  shall  be  required  to  support  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  and  State  of  Missouri.  A 
man  can  be  tried  for  perjury  for  violating  this 
oath  just  as  easily  as  for  violating  any  other; 
so  that,  for  these  reasons,  I  think  the  substitute, 
so  far  as  the  postponement  of  the  election  is 
concerned,  should  be  adopted,  and  I  am  in 
favor  of  it.  But  more  particularly,  I  am 
opposed  to  bringing  on  the  election  in  August, 
because  of  the  impossibility  of  getting  a  fair 
and  united  vote. 

Mr.  McCoRMACK.  If  we  continue  this  Con- 
vention in  power,  how  much  representation 
would  Southeast  Missouri  have? 

Mr.  PIPKIN.  She  will  have  just  what  she 
has  now;  and  the  people  would  rather  have 
those  that  were  originally  elected  than  to  go 
through  the  farce  of  another  election.  The 
people  know  whom  they  elected  then,  and  if 
they  are  to  be  deprived  of  voting  at  an  election 
at  this  time,  which  would  be  the  effect  of  the 
action  here  proposed  they  would  have  no  rep- 
resentation at  all  iu' the  Legislature.  A  large 
number  of  the  counties  are  wholly  destitute  of 
any  municipal  organization.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, I  will  not  consent  that  an  election 
shall  be  brought  on  for  my  portion  of  the  State. 

Mr.  HALL  ot  Rando'ph  I  am  not  as  well 
informed  as  to  the  condition  of  the  State  as  are 


most  of  the  members  here  present.  I  have 
taken  pains  to  ascertain  the  condition  of  one 
section,  and  they  tell  me  they  can  safely  hold 
an  election  there,  and  can  return  loyal  men. 
Taking  the  section  I  am  best  acquainted  with, 
they  tell  me  that  a  resumption  of  business  has 
taken  place  ;  and  that  the  holding  of  the  courts 
has  had  a  good  effect,  and  induced  a  return  to 
the  old  order  of  things;  and  they  think  a  re- 
turn to  the  old  order  of  things  will  have  a  strong 
tendency,  by  the  force  of  habit  as  well  as  other 
influences,  to  bring  the  people  back  to  their 
allegiance  to  the  Government.  Now,  I  am 
opposed  to  the  election  of  a  Governor  and 
other  State  officers,  and  the  reasons  that  apply 
are  peculiar.  It  is  necessary  that  w-  shall  not 
only  have  a  loyal  Government,  but  it  is  neces- 
sary that  we  shall  have  a  Governs  that  has 
the  confidence  of  the  powers  at  Washington. 
That  is  the  case  with  our  present  Governor. 
He  has  made  arrangements  with  the  Govern- 
ment at  Washington  that  are  necessary  for  the 
well-being  of  the  State,  and  these  arrangements 
were  brought  about  mainly  by  the  confidence 
they  had  in  him  personally.  Now,  if  we  elect 
another  man,  the  arrangements  that  have  been 
made  at  Washington  may  be  much  interfered 
with,  and  injurious  effects  may  result.  1  am 
opposed,  therefore,  to  the  election  of  a  Gover- 
nor, not  because  we  may  not  select  a  good  man, 
but  because  we  have  already  selected  a  man 
not  only  agreeable  to  ourselves,  but  one  who 
has  the  confidence  of  the  powers  at  Washing- 
ton. We  have  such  an  one  now,  but  we  have 
no  security  that  by  an  election  we  would  get 
such  a  man. 

With  regard  to  an  election  of  members  of 
Congress,  it  seems  to  me  we  should  have  an 
election  at  some  period  before  the  expiration 
of  the  present  Congress.  The  general  impres- 
sion at  Washington  is  that  there  will  probably 
be  an  early  session  of  the  new  Congress,  and 
that  it  will  have  important  duties  to  discharge 
in  relation  to  the  restoration  of  the  country  to 
its  proper  condition.  Th*  general  impression 
is  that  that  Congress  will  be  called  early,  and 
that  there  will  be  an  imperative  necessity  for 
it;  and  it  is  important  that  Missouri  should  be 
fully  represented  in  that  Congress.  It  is  a 
matter  of  great  importance  to  the  welfare  of 
the  whole  country.  Now,  sir,  if  we  are  to 
have  an  election  between  this  and  the  fourth  of 
March  next,  I  have  reason  to  believe  we  can 
have  that  election  in  this  State  in  August, 
without  disturbing  the  peace  and  order.  I  do 
not  know  what  may  be  the  state  of  things  in 


113 


this  Si^ate  six  months  hence.  I  hope  it  may 
continue  to  improve ;  but  we  have  met  with 
extraordinary  reverses  here,  and  every  one 
must  feel  some  distrust  for  the  future.  As 
the  time  is  near  at  hand  at  which  an  election 
would  regularly  come,  and  as  the  present  ap 
pears  propitious  for  a  peaceful  election,  I  pre 
fer  that  it  should  take  place  in  August,  rather 
than  be  put  off  to  a  more  remote  time,  when 
everything  must  be  uncertain. 

In  regard  to  an  election  for  members  of  the 
Legislature,  it  is,  in  my  opinion,  most  prudent  to 
have  it  as  soon  as  possible,  and  not  put  it  ofl 
to  a  period  when  reverses  may  overtake  us.  It 
is  far  bet'er  that  that  election  should  come  ofl 
simultaneously  with  the  other,  so  that  the  busi- 
ness of  elections  may  be  over  at  once.  Now, 
sir,  I  feel  that  I  am  incompetent  as  a  legislator 
for  the  people  of  this  State.  I  feel  that  this 
Convention  is  not  of  the  material  best  adapted 
for  the  Legislature  of  this  State.  I  believe  it 
would  give  more  satisfaction  to  the  people  to 
have  a  Legislature  elected  by  themselves,  and 
fresh  from  them. 

The  questions  that  the  people  feel  the  most  in 
terest  in  are  local  questions.     We  cannot  be  in- 
formed  of  these.      There   are    many    things 
arising  in  many  parts  of  the  State  that  we  do 
not  feel  prepared  to  act  upon. 

There  is  another  thing  in  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter to  which  I  wish  to  allude.  It  has  been 
charged  that  we  have  shown  a  disposition  to 
usurp  power.  Now,  I  have  endeavored,  as  far 
as  my  action  has  been  concerned,  and  I  believe 
the  Convention  has,  to  avoid  even  a  pretence 
looking  to  such  a  result ;  and  I  want  to  relieve 
the  minds  of  the  people  in  this  respect.  When 
they  discover  we  are  not  disposed  to  assume 
unnecessary  power,  they  will  have  more  con- 
fidence in  us.  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  will  be  better  to  cut  off  the  election  of 
Governor,  and  provide  that  the  Governor  shall 
fill  the  unexpired  term.  We  have  made  that 
provision  as  to  every  office  that  has  been  vaca- 
ted by  the  action  of  this  Convention.  We  have 
filled  them  for  the  unexpired  term. 

With  regard  to  a  Legislature,  we  must  have 
that,  and  I  hope  that,  once  for  all,  we  will  pro- 
vide for  the  election  of  a  Legislature,  and  re- 
lieve ourselves  of  the  responsibilities  that  would 
otherwise  fall  upon  us. 

Mr.  LONG.  Many  excellent  reasons  have 
been  offered  why  the  election  should  be  post- 
poned, but  among  the  number  I  was  surprised 
at  one  offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Ironton, 
(Mr.  Pipkin).  He  tells  us  that  in  somecoun- 

8 


ties  of  his  district  they  have  no  sheriffs  or 
clerks  —  not  even  a  coroner  or  constable. 
Well,  now,  it  is  rather  singular  to  me,  if  the 
chief  executive  of  this  State  has  ignored  that 
part  of  the  country  by  failing  to  appoint  the 
proper  officers,  why  the  gentleman  should  ask 
to  retain  the  chief  executive  in  office  who  has 
thus  neglected  them. 

Mr.  LEEPER.  Will  the  gentleman  allow  me 
to  rectify  him?  Since  I  have  been  here,  Gov. 
Gamble  has  called  upon  me  to  furnish  a  list  of 
names  of  men  that  were  loyal,  to  fill  the  differ- 
ent offices.  But  I  am  unable,  in  several  of  the 
counties,  to  find  men  who  are  loyal.  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  LONG  The  gentleman  will  see  that  I 
do  not  complain  of  the  action  of  the  Governor. 
I  am  only  passing  upon  the  remarks  of  the 
gentleman  from  Ironton.  Now,  the  gentleman 
says  he  voted,  on  _a  former  occasion,  for  a 
continuation  of  the  election.  The  gentleman 
will  find  that  almost  the  entire  portion  of  this 
body  who  voted  to  put  off  the  election  in  Octo- 
ber are  now  voting  to  put  it  off.  What  is  the 
reason?  Are  they  afraid  that  we  cannot  get 
the  votes  of  the  loyal  men  of  the  State?  No. 
Are  they  not  afraid  of  the  vote  that  will  be 
given  by  the  loya)  men  of  the  State,  and  do 
they  not  desire  to  put  off  the  election  until  the 
disloyal  men  of  the  State  can  come  back  and 
vote?  I  think  that  is  the  fact.  I  have  no 
doubt  of  the  loyalty  of  Gov.  Gamble  and  his 
associates. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  would  ask  the  gentleman  if 
there  are  not  four  times  more  Union  men  out 
of  the  State  than  rebels. 

Mr.  LONG.  My  opinion  is  there  are  not.  I 
believe  there  are  more  rebels  gone  from  Mis- 
souri than  Union  men. 

Mr.  PIPKIN.  I  can  inform  the  gentleman 
that  I  am  opposed  to  bringing  on  thu  election 
until  such  time  as  we  can  have  a  quiet,  peace- 
able and  fair  election.  At  first,  I  opposed  a 
postponement  of  the  election ;  but  when  we 
assembled  in  October,  the  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis  (Mr.  Long,)  and  others  moved  that  the 
election  be  postponed  until  August.  I  voted 
in  favor  of  the  proposition,  and  shall  vote  for 
it  to-day  for  the  same  reasons.  We  might  be 
able  to  get  a  bob-tailed  Legislature  here,  but 
that  would  be  all.  The  people  of  the  State  are 
not  in  a  condition  to  vote.  I  want  my  people 
to  vote;  and  if  they  are  not  in  a  condition  to 
vote,  I  am  not  to  blame.  I  take  it  for  granted 
that  the  secession  army  and  the  Federal  army 
have  both  had  a  great  deal  to  do  in  running  the 
people  out  of  the  country. 


114 


Mr.  LONG.  The  gentleman  will  remember 
another  important  reason  he  gave  at  St.  Louis 
why  the  election  should  be  put  off,  and  that 
was  he  held  our  acts  to  be  unconstitutional, 
and  that  they  had  no  legitimacy  about  them. 

Mr.  PIPKIN.  Yes,  sir;  and  I  am  of  the  same 
opinion  still.  But  that  has  never  changed  my 
position  in  regard  to  this  qiu-stion.  I  am  sin- 
cere and  honest  in  the  views  I  have  taken. 
My  object  has  been  to  subserve  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  people*  I  do  not  know  what  the 
views  of  my  people  are,  for  I  have  not  been 
able  to  ascertain  them.  I  shall,  therefore,  vote 
according  to  my  best  judgment;  and  I  shall 
vote  to  postpone  the  election  until  such  time  as 
the  people  can  give  a  full  and  fair  expression 
of  their  wishes.  I  believe  the  people  of  South- 
east Missouri  are  just  as  loyal  as  any  people 
on  earth,  and  to  a  Government  based  on  our 
Constitution  ;  but  they  do  not  endorse  Mr.  Lin- 
coln. 


A  motion  was  made  to  adjourn. 

The  PRESIDENT.  Before  putting  the  motion 
I  return  the  thanks  of  the  Convention  for  the 
very  elegant  bouquet  that  has  been  placed  on 
my  stand  by  the  ladies  of  Jefferson  City. 

Mr.  ALLEN.  I  move  a  vole  of  thanks  to  the 
ladies. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

The  PRESIDENT.  Before  putting  the  motion 
to  adjourn,  perhaps  this  session  of  the  Conven- 
tion will  close  my  connection  with  it,  for  I 
shall  return  to  Washington  City  to-morrow. 
We  have  been  four  sessions  in  Convention  to- 
gether, and  in  parting  with  you,  gentlemen, 
permit  me  to  say  that  I  feel  the  utmost  respect 
for  every  member  of  the  Convention  ;  and  hope 
we  have  done  something  to  conseive  the  wibhes 
and  happiness  of  the  people  of  this  State. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  until  nine 
o'clock  Monday  moining. 


SEVENTH   DAY. 


JEFFERSON  CITY, 
Monday,  June  9,  1861. 
Met  at  9  A.  M. 
Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 

QUALIFICATIONS    OF    VOTERS. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  think  we  are  in  such  a  state 
of  confusion  that  I  can  hardly  tell  how  to  vote. 
In  order  to  obtain  the  sense  of  the  House  on 
the  great  fundamental  principle  here,  I  will  ask 
that  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Elections, 
and  the  substitute  as  offered  by  the  gentleman 
from  Clay,  be  temporarily  passed  over,  to  give 
me  an  opportunity  of  testing  the  sense  of  the 
House  upon  a  resolution  which  I  ask  may  be 
read  for  information : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Con- 
vention the  Provisional  Government  should  be 
continued  in  office  for  the  residue  of  the  term 
for  which  C.  F.  Jackson  was  elected  ;  and  that, 
in  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  State,  the  elec- 
tion for  State,  county,  and  township  officers 
should  be  dispensed  with  until  greater  harmony 
is  restored  to  the  country. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on 
suspending  the  rules  to  allow  the  gentleman  to 
introduce  his  resolution. 


The  Convention  refused  to  suspend  the  rules. 
Mr.  Moss.  I  rise,  sir,  for  the  purpose  of 
withdrawing  my  substitute  for  the  time,  and  I 
desire  to  give  my  reasons  for  so  doing.  I  find 
that  there  are  some  of  the  friends  of  the  sub- 
stitute which  has  been  offered  by  myself,  who 
are  desirous  of  voting  on  the  proposition  for 
placing  restrictions  upon  office-holders  ;  and  as 
this  is  a  substitute  for  a  proposition,  it  has  been 
supposed  by  some  friends  of  that  measure  that 
if  this  substitute  be  adopted  they  can  have  no 
vote  upon  the  proposition  to  place  these  restric- 
tions npon  the  candidates  for  office.  I  will, 
therefore,  withdraw  it,  as  I  have  no  desire  to 
put  anything  in  the  way  of  a  vote  on  that  pro- 
position as  an  independent  proposition. 
The  substitute  was  withdrawn. 
Mr.  MCDOWELL  offered  a  substitute  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  the  original. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order. 
If  I  understand  the  reading  of  the  substitute 
correctly,  the  only  matter  of  difference  between 
it  and  the  original  proposition  is,  that  it  pro- 
poses to  administer  the  oath  after  the  election 
of  the  officers  instead  of  before.  This  question 
was  decided  by  the  Convention  yesterday.  It 


115 


is  not  admissible,  after  the  Convention  has 
passed  on  a  question,  for  a  gentleman  to  come 
hack,  under  the  fo'in  of  an  amendment  or 
substitute,  and  fi\-h  for  another  vote  of  the  Con- 
vention on  the  saute  question. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  I  will  state  to  the 
gentleman  that  the  understanding  of  the  Chair 
oT  parliamentary  law  is  this,  that  when  a  sec- 
tion has  been  agreed  to  by  the  Convention,  that 
section  is  no  longer  subject  to  amendment,  it 
having  been  agreed  to.  The  substitute  offer*- d 
by  the  gentleman  to  the  whole  proposition  goes 
farther  than  the  section  to  which  the  gentleman 
alludes  ;  and  while  I  might  decide  one  section 
of  that  substitute  out  of  order,  I  could  not  de- 
cide the  whole  out  of  older. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  withdraw  the  point  of 
order. 

Mr.  McCoRMACK.  I  propose  a  substitute 
for  the  substitute. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.     It  is  not  in  order. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  We  have  spent  a  great 
deal  of  time  making  amendments  and  offering 
substitutes,  and  we  are  likely  to  become  utterly 
confused,  so  that  we  shall  not  know  what  we 
are  voting  for.  I  suggest  to  the  Convention 
that  I  have  read,  or  tried  to  read,  the  substitute 
offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Bade,  (Mr. 
McDowell,)  ant!  I  do  not  see  any  difference  at 
all,  substantially,  between  that  and  the  other 
ordinance,  except  in  this:  that,  whereas,  the 
one  before  us  provides  tjjfrt  candidates  shall 
take  the  oath,  the  one  offered  by  Mr. 
McDowell  proposes  to  swear  the  gentlemen 
after  they  are  appointed.  What  I  wish  to  sug- 
gest is  this,  as  probably  the  way  in  which  we 
can  be  best  satisfied.  Let  us  go  on  wit.h  the 
bill  as  reported  by  the  committee,  and  make 
such  amendments  as  are  necessary;  and  then, 
if  the  Convention  is  not  satisfied,  I  understand 
that  they  can  at  that  point  offer  a  substitute  foi 
the  whole  bill.  I  wish  to  ask  the  Chair  whether 
I  am  right  in  saying  this? 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.     I  think  so,  sir. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  Therefore,  I  ask  the 
gentleman  to  withdraw  the  substitute  until  we 
can  have  action  on  the  bill  reported  by  the 
committee. 

Mr.  McDowELL.  I  will  withdraw  my  sub- 
stitute. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  question  before 
the  Convention  is  on  agreeing  to  the  first  section 
of  the  ordinance  as  reported  by  the  Committee 
on  Elections. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  wish  to  offer  an 
amendment  to  the  first  section. 


The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  I  will  state  to  the 
Convention  that,  so  far  as  the  Chair  is  con- 
cerned, I  shall  require  a  vote  on  the  final  pas- 
sage of  the  ordinance,  after  the  sections  are 
acted  upon.  I  so  regard  the  parliamentary  law, 
although  the  President  of  this  Convention 
decides  differently. 

Mr.  BRECKINPIDGE  then  offered  the  follow- 
ing amendment  to  the  first  section  :  "  And  I  do 
further  solemnly  swear,  or  affirm,  that  I  have 
not,  since  the  first  day  of  August,  taken  up 
arms  or  levied  war.''  I  am  aware  that  this 
question  has  already  been  passed  upon  by  the 
Convention,  but  I  think  I  am  not  mi-taken  in 
saying  that  it  has  not  been  passed  upon  in  such 
a  manner  as  would  denote  clearly  the  will  of 
this  body  on  it.  I  have  heard  several  members 
of  the  Convention  say  'hat,  in  voting  upon  the 
amendment  to  the  original  bill  offered  by  the 
gentleman  fiom  Greene, there  wereothermatters 
coupled  wi'h  that  motion  which  did  not  receive 
their  support.  I  desire  now  to  present  this 
single  point,  stripped  of  any  other  consideration 
whatever.  The  matter  proposed  by  my  amend- 
ment is  simply  this.  The  language  of  the 
original  bill  applied  to  voters  a  retrospective 
qualification.  I  do  not  wish  to  discuss  it, 
because  the  House  has  already  heard  it  talked 
of.  I  only  wish  to  expres"  my  opinion  that  it 
is  absolutely  essential  that  the  Convention 
should  require  that  tho^e  who  have  borne  arms 
against  the  United  States,  and  proved  them- 
selves in  acts  to  be  traitor? — that  they  should 
be  stripped  of  the  right  to  vote  in  this  State 
at  all.  I  cannot  see  how  gentlemen  of  known 
loyalty — and  in  whose  wisdom  and  experience  I 
have  great  confidence — can  differ  with  me.  I 
know  they  are  honest ;  but  I  have  such  a  firm 
conviction  that  this  action  should  be  taken, 
that  I  am  unwilling  to  let  it  pass  without  an 
opportunity  to  vote. 

Mr.  VANBUSKIRK.  Would  you  notbe  willing 
to  insert  the  word  "wilfully"  before  "levied 
war?" 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.     Certainly,  sir. 

Mr.  ORR.  The  Chair  has  decided  that  when 
a  question  has  been  voted  upon  the  same  thing 
cannot  come  up  again.  We  have  decided 
already  that  we  would  not  make  this  retrospec- 
tive at  all.  I  submit  that  it  is  not  in  order. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  I  do  not  remember 
the  phraseology  of  the  original  ordinance,  and 
I  cannot  decide  unless  I  have  it  before  me. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS.  I  think  it  is  the  same 
thing. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.     I  will  explain.    I  hold 


116 


in  my  hand  the  bill  originally  reported  by  the 
committee.  To  that  first  section  the  gentleman 
from  Greene  offered  an  amendment  in  these 
words  :  "or  who  have  since  that  time  adhered 
to  or  given  aid,  assistance,  or  encouragement 
to  those  engaged  in  carrying  on  the  present 
rebellion." 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  Then  the  amend- 
ment is  not  in  order. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  May  I  be  allowed  to 
change  my  amendment  by  inserting  "the  17th 
of  December,"  (which  is  the  time  the  amnesty 
expired,)  instead  of  "the  1st  of  August?" 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  amendment  of 
the  gentleman  is  now  in  order. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  rise  to  a  privileged  question. 
In  the  notes  of  my  remarks  in  the  debates  on 
the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Elections,  pub- 
lished in  the  Republican  of  yesterday,  I  am 
reported  as  having  said  that  I  think  secession 
has  done  more  than  anything  else  to  destroy 
slavery,  and  that  I  regard  it  as  bad  as  radical 
abolition.  Now,  Mr.  President,  I  said,  or 
intended  to  say  in  substance,  that  I  regard 
abolition  agitation  as  responsible  for  secession, 
but  that  this  rebellion  has  accomplished  more 
injury  to  slavery  in  a  few  months  than  even 
abolition  could  have  effected  in  as  many  years, 
and  that  they  are  co-workers  in  the  destruction 
of  that  institution, 

Mr.  COMINGO.  If  I  understand  the  amend- 
ment, it  proposes  to  disfranchise  all  those  who 
have  been  in  arms  against  the  Government, 
since  the  17th  of  December  last.  It  is,  in  ef- 
fect, the  same  as  the  ordinance  reported  by  the 
Committee  on  Elections,  &c.,  relative  to  can- 
didates for  office,  except  that  it  fixes  the  17th 
of  December  as  the  period  past,  beyond  which 
it  will  cease  to  operate. 

Mr.  President,  upon  the  subject  of  this 
amendment,  I  wish  to  offer  a  few  thoughts.  I 
do  not  desire  to  occupy  the  time  and  attention 
of  this  body  unnecessarily  ;  but  I  wish  to  pre- 
sent my  own  views  with  regard  to  the  difficul- 
ties growing  out  of  the  amendment,  and  the 
objections  which  it  appears  to  me  may  be 
justly  urged  against  its  adoption. 

We  are  told,  sir,  by  an  ancient  proverb  that 
"  When  Doctors  disagree  the  patient  dies.''  I 
trust  that  this  prove) b  may  not  have  an  exem- 
plification in  the  history  of  our  own  State,  and 
the  action  of  this  body,  designed  to  remedy  her 
present  disorders.  I  trust  that  the  State  will 
survive  the  numerous  prescriptions  that  the 
Doctors  here  assembled  have  made,  and  still 
are  making,  for  her  welfare.  But  if  the  adage 


prove  true  with  regard  1o  States  as  well  as  in- 
dividuals, I  fear  our  own  State  will  soon  go- 
the  way  of  all  the  earth  ;  for  I  assure  you  I 
never  before  witnessed  so  great  a  diversity 
of  opinion  touching  the  ailments  of  a  patient, 
and  the  kind  of  treatment  best  suited  to  cure 
the  malady.  Some  are  for  amputation,  some 
recommend  very  powerful  restrictions  in  the 
way  of  a  limitation  to  the  exercise  of  former 
rights  and  privileges,  and  some  favor  milder 
measures — a  kind  of  homeopathic  treatment. 
It  is  very  difficult  for  me  to  tell  which  of  these 
remedies  would  be  attended  with  the  best  con- 
sequences. Now,  I  entertain  no  kind  of  doubt, 
that  a  very  large  majority  of  this  body,  if  not 
every  member,  wish  to  do  that  which  will  be 
most  beneficial  to  the  State,  and  which,  in  its 
effect,  will  be  most  likely  to  produce  harmony 
among  the  people,  and  restore  them  to  that 
state  of  prosperity  and  peace  with  which  they 
were  blessed  in  times  gone  by.  I  presume 
that  these  are  the  chief  objects  of  our  assem- 
bling at  this  time,  and  surely  we  should  labor 
most  faithfully  and  zealously  for  their  attain- 
ment. I  would  not  for  one  moment  entertain 
the  thought  that  there  is  on  this  floor  a  member 
who  could  wish  to  say  or  do  aught  calculated 
to  produce  further  agitation  in  the  State,  or  to 
keep  alive  the  evil  influences  that  have  already 
done  so  much  to  destroy  our  peace  and  desolate 
our  homes. 

I  believe  that  the  people  of  the  State  to-day 
are  longing  for  peace,  and  that  they  would  hail 
its  return  with  joy  and  gladness.  They  have 
become  sick  of  agitation  and  all  its  attendant 
evils  ;  and,  although  it  is  plain  to  every  reflect-, 
ing  mind  that  there  is  but  one  way  to  avert 
them,  it  appears  impossible  to  make  them  reaU 
ize  this  fact,  and  to  induce  them  to  act  in  con-* 
cert  for  the  attainment  of  the  end  they  so 
greatly  desire.  Yet,  I  hope  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  they  will  do  so — when,  with  uni- 
ted purpose,  they  will  labor  to  uphold  and 
strengthen  the  Government  of  their  fathers, 
and  maintain  it  in  its  purity  and  integrity.  I 
regret,  however,  that  I  cannot  believe  that  the 
sympathies  of  the  people  of  Missouri  have  un- 
dergone such  a  change  as  to  render  them  all 
truly  loyal.  I  regret  to  believe  that  the  seces- 
sion heresy  is  stiH  aHve  in  the  minds  of  the 
masses  in  many  parts  of  the  State,  and  that  it" 
will  take  many  years,  perhaps,  to  remove  them 
all  from  beneath  its  baleful  influences.  Yet, 
I  insist  that,  notwithstanding  their  sympathies 
are  thus  misled  and  in  error,  the  masses  desire 
peace,  and  will  accept  it  on  fair  terms,  I  have 


117 


no  doubt.  Thousands  of  those  who  call  them- 
selves "Southern  men"  and  say  their  "sym- 
pathies are  with  the  South,"  and  use  other 
equally  ridiculous  expressions  to  define  their 
views,  now  realize  the  fact  that  the  Federal 
relations  of  Missouri  are  irrevocably  fixed, 
ami  will  in  a  short  time  return  to  the  fold,  and 
yield  a  cheerful  and  cordial  support  to  the 
Government,  if  they  receive  such  encourage- 
ment as  returning  prodigals  ought  to  expect  at 
the  hands  of  their  loyal,  and,  consequently, 
more  worthy  brothers. 

Now,  sir,  for  these,  and  for  other  reasons 
which  I  will  yet  present,  I  feel  constrained  to 
oppose  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from 
St.  Louis,  ^Mr.  Bieckinridge,)  and  I  do  so 
from  conscientious  convictions  of  duty — I  do 
so,  sincerely  doubting  the  policy  of  the  meas- 
ure, even  if  1  were  prepared  to  admit  the  pow- 
er of  this  body  to  impose  the  restriction  con- 
tained in  the  amendment.  This  is  an  admis- 
sion, however,  which  I  am  not  .prepared  to 
make.  It  has  been  but  a  few  days  since  I 
offered  an  ordinance  in  this  body  relative  to 
the  qualification  of  candidates  for  office,  con- 
taining one  clause  very  similar  to  this  amend 
ment.  I  have  since  thought  of,  and  examined 
into  the  subject  to  some  extent,  and  the  result 
is  that  my  mind  has  undergone  an  entire  change 
as  to  the  question  of  the  power  to  impose  the 
contemplated  restriction  upon  the  exercise  of 
the  elective  franchise. 

You  will  permit  me  here  to  remark  that  I  am 
by  no  means  prepossessed  in  favor  of  secession 
nor  any  of  the  kindred  heresies.  I  came  here 
fully  impressed  with  the  belief  that  this  terrible 
doctrine  is  the  chief  source  from  which  has 
sprung  all  our  present  evils.  The  land  bears, 
and  will  long  bear,  the  marks  of  its  blighting, 
desolating  influences.  They  are  everywhere 
present.  Ruined  farms,  neglected  agriculture, 
crippled  commerce,  distracted  finance",  sus- 
pended schools,  closed  churches,  disturbed  so- 
cial relations,  and  mourning  households,  are 
the  monuments  erected  to  its  memory.  The 
whole  land  is  filled  with  sorrow — the  voice  of 
mourning  and  its  melancholy  emblems  are  ever 
present, — and  the  wail  of  the  widow  and  the 
orphan  is  borne  upon  almost  every  breeze. 
These  are  some  of  the  results,  clearly  traceable 
to  one  common  source  ;  and  if  we  may  judge  a 
tree  by  its  fruit,  or  a  fountain  by  its  stream,  so 
may  we  judge  a  principle  by  its  effects  ;  and  us 
a  bitter  fountain  can  never  send  forth  sweet 
water,  so  an  evil  principle  must  produce  evil 
effects.  But  there  are  other  bitter,  very  bitter. 


fruits  issuing  from  this  heresy,  which  I  have 
both  seen  and  tasted  myself.  Well  do  I  re- 
member how  fearfully  the  minds  of  men,  and 
I  may  say  women  too,  became  unsettled,  and 
how  far  their  sympathies  and  feelings  were  led 
astray;  and  well  do  I  know  the  extent  to  which 
these  evils  go  at  the  present  hour.  Well  do  I 
remember  the  odium  with  which  many  regard- 
ed the  man  who  persisted  in  his  devotion  to 
the  Union  and  Government  of  his  fathers. 
And  I  cannot  forget  that  on  more  occasions 
'han  one,  I  was  told  the  time  had  come  when 
Union  men  could  no  longer  be  permitted  to  live 
in  this  State.  Nor  can  I  ever  forget  having 
been  met  on  the  highway,  by  some  half  dozen 
men,  about  the  time  or  shortly  after  the  sur- 
render of  Lexington,  and  having  had  this  same 
declaration  reiterated  to  me  by  one  of  the  num- 
ber, accompanied  with  oaths  and  threats  of 
terrible  import,  which  gave  to  the  speech,  ut- 
tered as  they  were,  a  sort  of  rude  eloquence 
as  well  as  fearful  profanity.  This  expression, 
"the  time  has  come  when  Union  men  must 
leave,"  and  others  of  similar  import,  were  by 
no  means  uncommon.  They  were  not  uttered 
by  a  few  isolated  beings  whose  judgments  were 
perverted  by  passion  j  they  were  the  utterances 
o'f  many,  and  were  iierattd  and  reiterated 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land, 
and  the  sentiment  found  a  most  cordial  response 
f  rom  the  hearts  of  thousands  }  and  among  them 
were  those  from  whom,  owing  to  their  rearing, 
position  in  society,  and  high  pretensions,  we 
would  most  certainly  have  looked  for  better 
things.  Such,  then,  sir,  is  secession,  and  such 
my  own  experience  and  opinion  as  to  its  effects 
upon  the  public  mind.  If  there  are  any  here, 
or  elsewhere,  whose  experience  and  observation 
as  to  its  character,  and  as  to  its  effects  on  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  people  are  different 
from  my  own,  I  will  venture  to  state  that  they 
come  from  a  region  where  the  heresy  has  rot 
taken  deep  root,  and  where  it  has  received  a 
feeble  support. 

I  have  alluded  to  this  subject,  and  have  thus 
given  my  own  experience  and  observation  with 
regard  to  secession  in  Missouri,  in  order  to 
show  that  they  have  not  been  of  such  charac- 
ter as  to  win  my  affections,  or  even  create  in 
my  mind  the  least  sympathy  for  the  rebellion, 
nor  its  aiders  and  abettors,  as  such  ;  and  in 
order  to  show  that  in  making  war  on  this 
amendment,  I  cannot  be  presumed  to  do  so 
from  a  desire  to  foster  a  cause  that  is  odious 
in  principle,  and  rendered  more  odious  to  ine 
by  my  own  experience — a  cause  the  chief  ad- 


118 


vocates  of  which  will  yet,  I  doubt  not,  call 
upon  the  "jocks  and  mountains  to  fall  upon 
them,"  and  hide  them  from  their  own  in- 
famy and  disgrace,  as  well  as  the  wrath  of  an 
offended  people.  I  will,  however,  here  state, 
in  passing,  that  none  of  these  wrongs  and 
irregularities  in  the  conduct  of  the  advocates 
of  this  heresy  can  change  the  principle  which 
they  Idbor  to  establish.  If  this  be  sound,  it 
forevtr  remains  so,  I  care  not  what  may  be  the 
acts  of  violence  and  outrage  committed  in  at- 
tempting to  maintain  it.  And,  again  :  if  it  be 
unsound,  its  character  in  this  respect  can  never 
be  changed  by  the  methods  and  means  adopted 
in  its  support.  Its  advocates  may  laud  it  to  the 
skies, 

"  In  florid  prose,  and  honeyed  lies  in  rhyme ; " 

they  may  prosecute  a  war  in  its  support,  in 
accordance  with  the  most  rigid  rules  of  civil- 
ized warfare;  they,  in  their  devotion  thereto, 
may  offer  their  lives  a  willing  sacrifice  ;  they 
may  devoutly  thank  God  for  whatever  of  suc- 
cess attends  their  efforts ;  they  may  offer  up 
long  prayers  to  Him  for  His  blessings,  and  for 
the  triumph  of  their  arms;  they  may  keep  the 
solemn  fast ;  they  may  do  all  these,  and  a 
thousand  fold  more,  and  yet  merit  the  righteous 
condemnation  of  both  God  and  man.  And 
this  same  rul*>  applies  to  our  own  cause,  the 
cause  of  our  Union,  which  of  all  our  earthly, 
is  one  of  our  most  precious  interests,  as  1  view 
it.  I  care  not,  sir,  what  acts  of  violence  have 
been  committed;  what  families  ruined;  nor 
what  amount  of  mourning  and  sorrow  produced 
in  the  land  by  the  Federal  army,  or  by  those  in 
authoiity,  it  does  not  effect  the  great  founda- 
tion upon  which  we  stand — npon  which  our 
fathers  built — upon  which  we  believe  this  na- 
tion must  remain,  or  sink  into  irretrievable 
anarchy  and  ruin.  And  when  men  tell  us  that 
they  can  no  longer  co-operate  wiih  those  who 
labor  to  maintain  the  Government — that  they 
can  no  longer  uphold,  or  even  attempt  to  up- 
hold, the  glorious  old  banner,  because  of  some 
irregularities  in  the  rranner,  and  excesses  in 
the  means  of  supporting  it ;  that  when  this, 
that,  or  the  other  act  was  done  they  forsook 
the  cause,  they  as  plainly  tell  us  they  never 
loved  it,  never  sustained  it  as  a  matter  of  prin- 
ciple, and  that  in  forsaking  it,  as  they  say, 
they  are  either  following  the  dictates  of  blind 
passion,  or  the  natural  bent  of  an  evil  inclina- 
tion. 

But,  sir,  T  have  already  occupied  too  much 
of  your  time,  and  will  therefore  endeavor  to 


come  directly  to  the  consideration  of  the  amend- 
ment. That  we  may  thoroughly  understand 
its  effect,  let  us  look  briefly  at  the  history  of 
this  rebellion  in  the  State  of  Missouri.  As  far 
back,  perhaps,  as  April  of  last  year,  if  not 
earlier,  the  then  Governor  of  this  State  was 
manifestly  laboring  to  bring  about  a  certain 
result,  to  wit :  the  destruction  of  the  Federal 
authority  within  the  limits  of  the  State.  In 
the  month  of  April,  civil  war  was  actually 
inaugurated  by  the  bombardment  of  Fort 
Sumpter;  and  from  that  time  forth,  the  then 
Governor  of  this  State,  with  his  minions,  who 
were  many  and  very  desperate,  labored  most 
assiduous'y  to  take  the  State  out  of  the  Union. 
So  zealous  and  determined  was  he  on  this  point, 
so  lost  to  every  consideration  of  interest,  and 
all  regard  for  the  solemn  obligations  he  took 
upon  himself  when  he  came  into  office,  that  we 
are  told  he  said  he  "would  take  the  State  out 
of  the  Union,  or  take  her  to  hfll."  Whether 
he  ever  made  use  of  that  expression  or.  not,  I 
cannot  state ;  but  it  is  a  matter  of  no  great 
consequence  whether  he  did  or  not,  as  it  is  well 
known  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  bring  about 
the  former  result,  and  in  his  efforts  well  nigh 
accomplished  the  latter.  But  he  was  the  legally 
constituted  and  acting  Governor  of  the  State, 
and  he  had  under  his  control  her  militia,  and 
had  the  power  to  call  them  into  active  service. 
At  all  events,  he  did  so,  and  thereby  collected 
a  considerable  force,  most,  if  not  all,  of  which 
volunteered  for  as  long  a  period  as  twelve 
months.  I  entertain  no  doubt  that  among 
those  who  thus  volunteered  at  the  call  of  the 
Governor  were  many  truly  loyal  men — men 
who  did  riot  understand  the  plans  and  purposes 
which  he  had  in  view — men  who  believed  they 
were  in  the  discharge  of  a  simple  duty  to  their 
country,  and  who  did  not  for  a  moment  even 
suppose  they  were  incurring  existing  penalties, 
not,  perhape,  understanding  the  law  of  treason; 
much  less  did  they  expect  to  bring  upon  them- 
selves future  and  enlarged  punishment,  as 
contemplated  by  this  act.  But  it  will  be  said, 
every  man  is  presumed  to  know  the  law.  This 
is  true,  although  the  presumption  is  rather  a 
violent  one.  But  it  will  not  be  insisted,  I 
imagine,  that  every  man  knows  what  the  law 
will  be  ;  yet  this  amendment  almost  implies  as 
much.  I  hold  that  when  a  man  commits  an 
offence  he  is  presumed  to  do  so  with  an  eye  to 
existing  penalties  ;  and  no  earthly  power  can 
afterwards  legally  deprive  him  of  a  solitary 
farthing,  or  a  solitary  privilege,  in  consequence 
of  the  commission  of  the  offence,  except  so  far 


119 


as  wa<*  provided  by  the  laws  in  force  al  the  time 
it  was  committed. 

The  class  that  is  to  be  affected  by  this  ordi- 
nance and  the  proposed  amendment,  consists 
chiefly  of  tho«e  who,  as  before  intimated,  were, 
under  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  at  a  time  of 
high  excitement,  an:l  nnder  the  evil  influences 
of  demagogues  and  other  bad  men  led  into  the 
service,  from  which  they  could  not  afterwards 
extricate  themselves,  however  much  '.hey  might 
have  wished  to  do  so.  And  now,  in  our  action 
relative  to  this  class,  it  occurs  to  me  we  should 
be  careful  that  we  do  not  commit  an  error 
which  may,  in  the  end,  though  well  designed, 
be  productive  of  irreparable  evil.  Few,  if 
any,  of  those  who  were  led  into  Jackson's  army 
could  have  left,  that  service  at  the  time  fixed  by 
this  amendment,  unless  they  had  done  so  by 
deserting.  Having,  then,  been  compelled  to 
remain  with  him,  and  in  a  service  which  many 
of  them,  as  I  verily  believe,  had  unwittingly 
entered,  or  to  risk  the  consequences  of  deser- 
tion, it  seems  to  savor  somewhat  of  injustice  to 
disfranchise  them,  admitting  that  we  have  the 
power.  But  it  is  on  this  point  that  the  insuper- 
able difficulty  is  presented  to  my  mind.  As 
before  stated,  I  cannot  divest  my  mind  of  the 
conviction  that  the  Constitution  of  this  State, 
and  also  that  of  the  United  States,  stand  in 
the  way  and  forbid  the  adoption  of  the  amend- 
ment. Upon  this  subject  my  views  may  be 
erroneous  but  they  are  clearly  settled,  though 
I  may  not  be  able  to  sustain  them  by  such  rea- 
sons as  will  lead  others  to  adopt  them. 

The  proposition,  as  I  understand  it,  is  to 
dL-f ranch ise  all  who  have  been  in  arms  against 
the  Government  since  the  17th  of  December 
last.  It  must  be  manifest  to  the  minds  of  all, 
if  we  impose  this  restriction  upon  the  voters  of 
the  State,  that  we  do  so  not  out  of  mere  caprice, 
but  as  a  punishment  for  some  offence  of  which 
a  part  of  them  are  guilty,  or  at  least  are  sup- 
posed to  be  guilty.  It  is  true  that  it  applies  to 
all  alike,  to  the  loyal  and  to  the  disloyal,  to 
those  wh^  have  not  been  in  arms  as  well  as 
those  who  have.  If,  however,  all  the  people 
were  truly  loyal,  we  would  not,  I  presume, 
think  of  requiring  th<>m  to  make  oath  as  to  their 
loyalty  in  times  past.  I  admit  that  it  applies 
alike  to  all,  but  it  by  no  means  has  the  same 
effect  upon  all  upon  whom  it  acts,  and  it  oujiht 
not,  so  far  as  its  prospective  operation  is 
concerned  ;  but  qui'e  a  different  question  is 
presented  when  we  come  to  consider  its  retro- 
spective bearing. 

The  insuperable  objection  to  this  feature  of 


the  amendment  is,  that  it  is  ex  post  facto,  and 
in  oilier  respects  violative  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States;  or  at  least  it  so  appears 
to  my  mind.  If  this  be  its  character,  theiecan 
be  no  further  controversy  upon  the  subject,  for 
no  one  on  this  floor  would  wilfully  violate  one 
of  the  most  important  clauses  in  those  instru- 
ments which  we  have  all  solemnly  sworn  w« 
would  support. 

An  ex  post  Jacto  law  I  need  scarcely  define. 
It  is,  however,  a  law  which  renders  an  act 
penal  or  criminal  which  was  not  of  that  char- 
acter when  committed;  or  which  makes  the 
grade  of  an  offence  greater  than  when  com- 
mitted ;  or  which  attaches  additional  punish- 
ment to  offences  alieady  committed  ;  or  which 
punishes  an  offence  in  a  manner,  or  to  an 
extent,  in  which  it  could  not,  by  existing  law, 
have  been  punished  when  committed.  The 
term  has  further  definitions,  but  these  are 
sufficient  for  present  purposes.  It  is  insisted, 
however,  that  this  amendment  is  not  obnoxious 
to  any  of  these  objections,  but  steers  clear  of 
them  all,  and  is  merely  a  law  defining  the 
qualification  of  voters.  Is  this  true?  What  is 
its  real  character? 

All  the  laws  that  have  hitherto  come  under 
my  observation  defining  the  qualifications  of 
voters,  have  related  simply  to  their  age,  sex, 
residence,  color,  mental  condition,  &c.  In  no 
instance,  so  far  as  I  remember,  do  they  dis- 
qualify a  voter,  even  on  account  of  a  conviction 
for  crimes  committed  ;  much  less,  of  course,  do 
they  pretend  to  do  so  on  account  of  any  pre- 
sumption, however  strong  that  may  exist,  of  his 
having  been  guilty  of  crime.  The  knowledge 
of  the  fact  that  many  of  the  citizens  of  this 
State  have  been  guilty  of  treason  and  misprision 
of  treason,  time  and  again,  does  not  in  the  least 
affect  the  question. 

We  know  that  under  the  laws  of  this,  and  I 
believe  every  ofher  State,  every  man  who  is 
convicted  of  treason,  misprision  of  treason, 
mayhem,  malicious  assault  with  intent  to  kill, 
arson,  burglary,  robbery,  or  the  like,  and 
sentenced  therefor  to  imprisonment  in  the  pen- 
itentiary, incurs  the  disability  which  this 
amendment  is  designed  to  create;  but  observe, 
the  disability  does  not  attach  until  after  the 
conviction,  and  that  it  forms  a  part  of  the 
punishment  imposed  upon  the  offender;  or  is 
made  a  consequent  of  the  conviction,  and  is  a 
part  of  the  punishment.  The  amendment 
reaches  the  same  end  in  a  more  summary 
mariner.  Now,  it  must  be  manifest  that  this 
restriction  partakes  not  only  of  the  nature  of 


120 


punishment,  but  is  in  very  fact  a  punishment — 
a  punishment  inflicted  without  the  observance 
of  any  of  those  formalities  required  by  our 
Constitutions  and  laws  j  or,  in  other  words, 
"without  due  process  of  law;"  without  pre- 
sentment, without  trial,  without  the  taking  of 
any  of  those  steps  that  have  hitherto  been 
regarded  as  indispensably  prerequisite.  But 
further,  as  to  the  ex  post  facto  feature  of  the 
amendment.  If  Ihe  restriction  should  be  im- 
posed, it  will,  as  before  stated,  not  be  out  of 
mere  caprice,  but  on  account  of  something  that 
we  think  has  been  done  by  those  who  will  be 
affected  by  it,  which  we  believe  ought  to 
deprive  them  of  the  right  to  exercise  the  elec- 
tive franchise  as  in  times  past.  They  were 
once  invested  with  this  privilege,  which,  under 
our  form  of  government,  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  every  citizen.  Although  it  cannot 
be  said  that  the  right  to  vote  is  a  vested  right, 
within  the  meaning  of  that  term  as  commonly 
understood,  yet  it  partakes  very  much  of  that 
character ;  and  the  citizen  who  has  once  en- 
joyed it  cannot  be  denied  its  enjoyment,  or  be 
excluded  from  the  piivilege  by  a  mere  act  of 
legislation  defining  the  qualification  of  voters. 
If  the  proposition  were  to  disfranchise  all  who 
shall  hereafter  take  up  arms  against  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  or  give  aid  and 
comfort  to  its  enemies,  &c.,  I  cannot  perceive 
that  it  would  conflict  with  any  provision  of  the 
Constitution  ;  and  I  would  most  cheerfully 
support  it,  but  in  view  of  its  retrospective 
operation  I  cannot. 

We  are  about  to  say,  in  effect,  that  a  certain 
class  of  the  citizens  of  this  State,  who  have 
hitherto  enjoyed  the  elective  franchise,  shall 
enjoy  it  no  longer.  And  why  ?  Not  because 
they  are  not  forty  years  old  ;  not  because  they 
have  not  resided  in  the  State  seven  years,  or 
were  not  born  in  the  United  States,  as  might  be 
provided  in  a  law  defining  the  qualification  of 
voters  ;  but  because  we  believe,  correctly,  be- 
yond all  doubt,  that  they  have  been  guilty  of 
treason  in  some  of  its  forms.  Now,  although 
all  who  have  incurred  this  guilt  might  be  pun- 
ished under  the  laws  of  the  United  Srates,  and 
of  this  State,  if  arrested  and  brought  to  trial, 
(and  many  of  them  deserve  the  utmost  penalty 
of  the  law,)  yet  there  are  many  hundreds  of 
the  number  who  when  convicted  could  only  be 
punished  by  fine.  It  will  not  be  contended 
that  any  of  this  latter  class  would,  in  conse- 
quence of  such  conviction  and  fine,  be  disqual- 
ified as  voters.  Nor  will  it  be  denied  thut  an 
act  of  the  Legislature,  which  might  have  been 


passed  at  any  lime  subsequent  to  the  commis- 
sion of  the  offences  of  which  the  parties  were 
thus  convicted,  attempting  to  enlarge  the 
penalty  for  the  crime  by  adding  to  the  fine, 
the  disqualification  contemplated  by  this 
amendment  would  be  pronounced  unconstitu- 
tional and  void  ;  and  that  because  of  its  being 
ex  post  facto.  It  would  clearly  be  an  enlarge- 
ment of  the  punishment,  created  after  the 
commission  of  the  offences  j  and  in  all  these 
cases  would  be  utterly  inoperative,  though 
prospectively  it  would  not. 

We,  sir,  are  attempting  to  do  what  all  the 
courts  of  the  country,  aided  by  all  the  Legis- 
latures, could  not  do;  we  are  attempting  to 
punish  before  conviction,  without  trial,  with- 
out any  of  the  established  forms  of  law,  and 
to  an  extent  and  in  a  manner  wholly  inadmis- 
sible when  the  supposed  guilt  was  incurred ; 
and  we  innocenMy  tell  the  world  that  we  are 
simply  defining  the  qualifications  of  voters.  It 
may  be  so,  but  I  cannot  so  regard  it. 

Of  the  many  crimes  punishable  under  the 
criminal  code  of  this  Sfate,  there  is  but  a  small 
proportion  wherein  the  Legislatures  appear  to 
have  thought  that  conviction  should  be  attend- 
ed with  disfranehisement  as  a  part  of  the  pun- 
ishment. Treason,  in  all  cases  in  which  the 
offender  upon  conviction  is  punished  by  fine, 
does  not  belong  to  the  number.  We,  however, 
more  wise  than  they,  are  about  to  say  this 
shall  be  a  part  of  the  punishment,  and  that  it 
shall  be  meted  out  before  conviction  or  trial, 
and  even  before  arrest;  and  may  be  inflicted  on 
all  without  reference  to  the  time  of  their  of- 
fending ;  though,  for  certain  reasons,  we  will 
exempt  all  the  sinners  prior  to,  if  they  have 
not  done  so  since,  the  17th  of  December,  1861. 
We  impliedly  say  that  we  have  the  power  to 
go  back  indefinitely  in  this  matter,  but  do  not 
choose,  at  present,  to  go  beyond  the  period  in- 
dicated. 

I  am  aware  that  we  have  very  great  power  ; 
that  we  can  alter  and  amend  the  Constitution 
of  our  State,  or  that  we  can  abolish  it  and  make 
a  new  one  if  we  deem  it  advisable  ;  and  that 
we  can  repeal  statutes  and  make  laws,  and  do 
a  great  many  other  things;  but  there  is  a  limit 
to  our  power.  We  certainly  cannot,  in  chang- 
ing and  abolishing  the  laws  of  the  State,  im- 
pair in  the  least  any  one  of  the  provisions  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  nor  can 
we  deprive  a  citizen  of  this  State  of  a  solitary 
rieht  or  privilege  which  he,  as  such,  has  ac- 
quired under  the  laws  now  or  heretofore  ex- 
isting. This,  I  think,  the  amendment  attempts 


121 


to  do,  which  is  another  objection  to  its  adop- 
tion. 

But  suppose  I  am  mistaken  with  regard  to 
thf  effect  <>f  this  amendment — suppose  it  does 
not  at  all  conflict  with  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  does  not  interfere  with  nor 
disturb  any  of  the  rights  and  privileges  that 
ciri/ens  have  acquired  under  the  constitution 
and  laws  of  this  State,  and  gentlemen  of  known 
ability  and  integrity,  in  whose  opinions  1  have 
the  utmost  confidence,  tell  rne  it  does  not.  Sup- 
pose they  are  right  and  I  am  wrong?  Another 
question  then  arises,  and  that  is  as  to  the  policy 
of  the  measure.  Will  its  effect  be  productive 
of  peace  to  the  people  of  our  State  ?  Will  it 
exei t  a  good  or  an  evil  influence  npon  them? 
The^e  are  questions  worthy  of  careful  consid- 
eration. I  doubt  not,  as  I  remarked  in  the 
outset,  that  our  main  object  is,  as  tar  as  pos- 
sible, to  restore  peace,  and  law,  and  order  to 
our  people,  and  to  harmonize  the  discordant 
elements  that  exist  throughout  the  State.  I  pre- 
sume we  have  not  come  here  for  the  purpose  of 
building  up  any  particular  party,  nor  of  laboring 
in  the  imerests  of  any  cause,save  that  of  our  Stale 
and  country,  which  rises  far  above  all  party  in- 
terests and  party  considerations,  and  increases 
in  impor  tance  as  its  perils  multiply.  I  would  not 
give  the  dust  that  cleaves  to  the  soles  of  my 
feet  for  the  patriotism  and  loyalty  of  that  man 
who,  in  such  an  hour  as  this,  would  come  for- 
ward and  labor  for  mere  party  or  individual 
aggrandizement.  The  time  has  been  when  this 
was  permissible,  or,  at  least,  was  permitted  ; 
but  it  is  gone,  and  the  period  has  arrived  when 
good  men  will  ignore  individual  and  party  in- 
terest, and  former  party  affiliations,  and  unite 
their  hearts  and  energies  in  their  country's 
cause. 

Our  purposes  and  desires  are  to  promote  the 
best  interests  of  our  State  and  country.  How 
we  may  best  do  this  is  an  important  question. 
Will  the  amendment  under  consideration,  even 
if  obnoxious  to  none  of  the  objections  urged 
again-t  its  constitutionality,  be  productive  of 
good?  Upon  this  subject  I  believe  almost 
every  gentleman  present,  who  has  preceded  me, 
hits  had  a  great  deal  to  say,  and,  it  appears, 
there  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinions  in  relation 
to  it.  Strong  arguments,  both  pro  and  con, 
have  been  irged  as  to  the  policy  of  the  mea- 
sure, and  the  subject  has  been  quite  exhausted. 
Admitting,  for  a  moment,  that  it  is  entirely 
clear  of  constitutional  obstacles,  I  must  say  I 
am  not  satisfied  as  to  the  soundness  of  the 
policy.  It  has  occurred  to  me  that  when  we 


underlake  to  disfranchise  a  large  number  of 
the  people  of  the  State,  as  proposed  by  the 
amendment,  we  should  consider  long  and  tho- 
roughly as  to  the  probable  effect  of  our  action, 
and  carefully  weigh  all  the  circumstances 
which  induce  us  to  believe  it  necessary.  It 
was  a  grievous  error  in  the  minds  of  some, 
and  fault  in  the  hearts  of  others,  which  led 
them  to  enter  the  army  and  follow  the  lead  of 
Jackson  and  Price.  But  having  gone  into  the 
service  in  an  evil  hour,  when,  overwhelmed  by 
evil  influences,  they  took  the  military  oath 
prescribed  by  the  Legislature  of  our  State, 
from  which  they  could  not  absolve  themselves, 
and  linked  their  destinies  irrevocably,  for  a 
time,  with  those  of  the  man  who  has  done  more 
to  ruin  our  State  than  any  one  who  has  ever 
lived  within  its  borders,  him  they  were  then 
compelled  to  follow,  and  his  mandates  they 
were  obliged  to  obey.  Shall  we  now  tell  these 
men,  and  others  who  will  fall  within  the  scope 
of  this  amendment,  amounting  in  the  State  to 
more,  perhaps,  than  40,000,  that  they  shall  no 
longer  go  to  the  polls  and  have  a  voice  there  in 
the  choice  of  their  rulers  ?  Shall  we  tell  them 
they  are  no  longer  entitled  to  the  full  privi- 
leges of  citizens  ?  Surely  this  looks  like  bad 
policy.  May  it  not,  nay,  will  it  not,  probably, 
produce  discontent  and  create  an  element  of 
discord  in  many  parts  of  the  State,  that  will 
tell  most  fearfully  upon  her  future  interests 
and  peace?  Such  are  my  apprehensions.  I 
think,  therefore,  that  if  we  conclude  to  require 
an  oath  of  the  voter,  it  would  be  wise  to  make 
it  wholly  prospective.  A  full  and  unequivocal 
pledge  as  to  their  future  loyalty  would,  I  ihink, 
be  sufficient  j  and  I  assure  you  this,  in  my 
opinion,  is  all  that  will  result  in  any  lasting 
good. 

I  have  thought  it  would  probably  be  the  best 
plan  to  leave  the  voters  untrammelled  with 
oaths,  and  to  require  all  candidates  and  appli- 
cants for  office  to  take  an  oath  so  stringent  in 
its  tei  ms  that  it  would  admit  of  no  kind  of  ques- 
tion as  to  their  loyalty,  either  present  or  future. 
If  this  could  be  done  it  would  obviate  a  great 
deal  of  inconvenience  and  delay  at  the  polls, 
and  would  always  secure  the  services  of  loyal 
men  in  the  Legislature  of  the  State ;  and,  in  a 
word,  in  all  the  offices  within  the  gift  of  the 
people  and  the  Executive  of  the  State.  I  am 
aware  of  the  fact  that  these  views  differ  from 
what  a  majority  of  the  members  of  this  body 
regard  as  the  true  line  of  policy ;  but  I  honestly 
en  ertain  and  present  them,  sincerely  hoping 
they  may  be  received  in  that  spirit  of  kindness 


122 


and  forbearance  in  which  they  are  offered.  |  have  not  manifested  arty  such  sympathy  for 
Should  th^y  be  productive  of  evil,  I  shall  ever  these  men,  and  I  believe  that  this  fear  of  offend- 
regret  having  uttered  them;  but  if  of  good,  in  ing  and  exasperating  traitors  is  a  sickly  sen- 
any  Degree  however  small,  I  shall  rejoice.  The|timent.  And,  Mr.  President,  I  have  but  one 
subject  is,  to  my  mind,  as  difficult  as  it  is  im-  j  more  word  to  say.  If  these  traitors  are  to  be 
poitant,  and  I  have  not  approached  it  without  brought  back  into  the  State  to  vote  loyal  men 
realizing  to  a  painful  extent  the  responsibility  !  down,  the  particular  class  who  have  been  de- 
that  rests  upon  us  individually  and  as  a  body,  i  noun^d  by  them  as  Hessians  and  who  have 
by  reasoti  of  the  relation  we  sustain  to  our  j  helped  to  whip  these  same  traitors,  will  also 
Sta'e  and  country  in  this  hour  of  darkness  and  meet  them  at  the  polls  and  help  to  out-vote 


per;!.  May  it  be  our  happy  fortune  to  know 
that  ihe  tendency  of  our  action  here  has  been  to 
remove  the  evils  that  now  afflict  the  land,  or, 
at  least,  to  know  that  they  have  not  thereby  been 
increased. 
Mr.  BUSCH. 


When  a  similar  question  was 
forced  upon  us  last  week  by  the  gentleman 
from  Greene,  similar  of  course  only  in  prin- 
ciple, I  had  not  one  word  to  say  upon  the  sub- 
ject, but  yielded  cheerfully  to  other  gentlemen 
far  more  eloquent  than  I  am.  I  have  but  a  few 
words  to  say  upon  this  proposition,  and  cer- 
tainly it  is  not  in  my  power  to  command  such 
eloquent  words  as  the  gentlemm  who  has  just 
taken  his  seat.  I  desire  that  this  amendment 
should  be  inserted,  and  I  wish  merely  to  give 
the  reasons  whyl  so  desire.  We  have  heard  it 
asserted,  again  and  again,  that  this  action 
would  engender  strife,  war,  and  disturbance  of 
the  peace.  The  views  of  men  have  little  weight 
with  me,  because  you  remember  in  July  last, 
when  we  were  changing  the  entire  government 
and  when  we  placed  in  office  this  Provisional 
Government,  they  predicted  some  of  the  most 
fearful  consequences  and  troubles ;  and  now 


them. 

Mr.  ALLEN.     I,  sir,  am  in  favor  of  imposing 
the  restrictions  in  the  report  of  the  Committee 


upon 


office-holders,   and   shall   vote  for   that 


proposition.  I  am,  also,  for  imposing  restric- 
tions upon  the  voter.  I  voted  asrainst  the  pro- 
position and  in  favor  of  the  amendment  pre- 
viously offered,  from  the  fact  that  it  was  not  in 
harmony  with  the  action  of  this  Convention 
last  October.  The  amendment  proposed  by 
the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis,  that  makes  it 
date  on  the  17th  of  December,  is  not  in  conflict 
with  the  action  of  this  Convention  at  its  Octo- 
ber term.  My  friend  on  the  left  pioposes  as 
an  amendment  to  the  amendment  the  lOlh  of 
June,  which  he  proposes  to  offer  on  the  first 
favorable  opportunity.  I  am  willing  to  vote 
for  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman 
fiom  St.  Louis,  and  if  that  fails,  I  am  willing 
to  vote  for  the  amendment  of  my  friend  on  the 
left.  I  was  not  in  favor  of  going  back  behind 
ourwoik  last  fill,  and  the  amnesty  that  was 
then  offered  by  the  Convention  to  those  who 
had  taken  up  arms  against  the  Government, 
and  I  am  not  disposed  to  do  anything  that  will 

this  very  day  these  gentlemen   are  back  here,  i  conflict  with  that,  and  the  amendment  of  the 

beseeching  us  to  retain  the  Government  and 


leave  it  undisturbed.  The  gentleman  says  we 
would  exasperate  the  rebels,  and  that,  while 
he  had  no  sympathy  with  treason,  he  had  sym- 
pathy for  traitors  and  the  meanest  of  God's 
creation.  What  lack  of  sympathy,  I  would 
ask,  is  there  on  our  part  in  refusing  them  for  a 
time  the  high  privilege  of  Southern  rights?  I 
confess  1  have  no  such  sympathy,  least  of  all 
with  those  who  have  so  unmistakably  ex- 
pressed their  peculiar  sympathy  for  me  and 
for  thousands  like  me,  whom  they  call  Hes- 
sians, and  whom  they  hate  for  protecting  and 
defending  this  very  Government  which  they 
want  to  destroy.  I  have  none  with  those  who 
have  officially  given  notice  from  every  quarter 
o1  this  State  that  they  would  drive  us  and  our 


gentleman  from  St.  Louis  does  not  conflict 
with  it;  and  I  am  for  imposing  some  restric- 
tions upon  gentlemen  who  have  taken  up  arms 
ag.iinst  the  Government.  It  is  true,  Mr.  Pres- 
ident, that  many  who  are  in  the  first  place 
called  into  rebellion  by  the  leaders  and  dema- 
gogues of  the  country,  have  become  satisfied 
of  their  offence  and  have  returned  home,  deter- 
mined in  the  future  to  be  loyal  citizens.  Such 
this  amendment  will  not  affect,  and  to  such  of 
those  as  have  manifested  by  their  coi.duct 
their  penitence  and  are  willing  to  be  loyal  citi- 
zens, I  am  willing  that,  by  simply  taking  the 
oath,  they  should  have  the  right  to  vote  ;  but 
those  old  hardened  sinners  that  have  been  de- 
termined to  b'eak  up  the  Government,  I  am 
for  holding  them  in  -:heck,  at  least  until  our 


families  out  of  the  State  and  tike  our  lives.  I  j  difficulties  are  settled.  I  was  at  a  lo*s  to  un- 
have  no  such  sympathy,  and  I  undertake  to  i  derstand  my  friend  from  Jackson  when  he  ex- 
say  a  la.  ge  portion  of  the  A^-^l^a  people ,  pressed  his  doubts  with  referenced  ru,^oUig 


123 


this  amendment,  on  constitutional  grounds; 
but  before  he  concluded  admitted  that  the  Con- 
vention hail  the  power  to  alter  the  Constitution 
of  the  State.  Now,  I  think,  as  far  as  qualifi- 
cation of  vo'.ers  is  concerned,  that  the  Conven- 
tion has  the  right  to  deteimine  that. 

Mr.  COMINGO.  Did  you  understand  me  to 
say  that  we  had  the  right  to  change  the  Con- 
stitution and  deprive  gentlemen  of  rights  that 
existed  under  the  Cons  itution  befoie  the  pas- 
sage of  the  ordinance  changing  it?  If  so,  you 
misunderstood  me. 

Mr.  ALLKN.  So  far  as  fixing  the  qualifica- 
tion of  voters,  as  I  before  remarked,  I  think 
the  Convention  has  the  right  to  do  it  under  the 
Constitution.  I  am  not,  however,  a  Consti- 
tutional lawyer.  But,  sir,  that  proposition,  as 
I  understand  it,  takes  effect  from  the  17th  of 
December,  and  all  who  have  taken  up  arms 
since  that  time  are  denied  the  right  of  suffrage, 
and  I  hold,  sir,  under  existing  ciicumstances 
and  under  the  surroundii  g  history  of  the  con- 
test through  which  we  are  passing,  that  they 
ought  to  be  held  in  check.  There  are  a  great 
many  young  men,  it  is  true,  who  have  been  in- 
duced to  go  into  this  thing,  but  I  ask  you  how 
long  they  have  had  time  to  consider  upon  the 
subject.  Ever  since  the  rebellion  w<s  inaugu- 
rated. Since  the  first  call  by  Jackson  and 
Pi  ice  upon  the  State  of  Missouri,  they  have 
had  until  the  17th  of  December  last  to  counsel 
and-consider  this  mitter  j  and  the  man  that  has 
not  yet  sense  enough  to  consider  a  matter  of 
such  magnitude  as  that,  after  having  so  long  a 
time,  outfht  not  to  be  entitled  to  vote  anywhere, 
especially  during  the  existence  of  our  present 
troubles.  When  I  came  to  this  Convention,  1 
came  here  feeling  that  I  would  vote  for  a  pro- 
position that  would  prohibit  any  man  who  had 
taken  up  arms  against  the  Government  from 
holding  office  in  the  State  and  from  voting 
duiingthe  existence  of  our  present  troubles; 
but,  after  consulting  and  reflecting  with  refer- 
ence to  the  ordinance  passed  in  October,  I 
thought  it  was  most  advisable  for  us  to  adopt 
one  that  would  take  eff.-ct  at  the  expiration  of 
the  amnesty  act.  I  know  there  are  a  great 
many  men  all  throrgh  the  country  who  have 
been  induced  to  go  into  this  rebellion,  but  who 
have  come  to  their  se^es  and  seen  thtir  folly, 
and  muny  of  them  have  returned  home  and 
acted  like  men.  But  last  winter  some  of  Col. 
Tindall's  men  came  home  on  a  furlough,  bring- 
ing their  aims  with  them.  In  the  neighboi- 
hood  there  were  some  seces-ionists,  who  went 
and  captured  these  men,  and  took  *heir  guns 


away  from  them,  and  went  off  South.  One  of 
the  number,  however,  considered  the  matter 
all  over,  and  was  satisfied  that  he  had  clone 
wrong,  and  that  it  was  a  mighty  bad  thirg  for 
a  man  to  be  in  rebellion  against  his  Govern- 
m*nt;  and  he  just  started  right  back  and  gave 
himself  up,  and  said  he  was  detei mined  to  take 
the  oath  and  be  a  good  and  loyal  citizen.  Now, 
when  a  man  will  act  on  that  principle,  I  con- 
tend that  he  should  be  entitled  to  the  right  of 
suffrage.  There  are  such  cases  as  that.  But 
the  gentleman  remaiked  that  the  people  all 
through  the  country  are  becoming  satisfied  that 
this  rebellion  will  not  win  and  that  they  are 
for  peace.  They  remind  me  of  old  Fagin.  He 
said  he  had  just  as  good  a  wife  as  anybody, 
but  he  had  to  whip  her  every  day  to  m.ike  her 
so.  They  find  the  rebellion  won't  win.  It 
was  proclaimed  a  year  ago  that  rebellion 
would  not  win,  and  that  it  would  never  do  for 
Missouri  to  t;ike  up  arms.  We  told  them  so, 
but  in  spite  of  this  they  would  go  into  rebel- 
lion, and  after  the  lapse  of  so  long  a  time  many 
of  them  are  still  disposed  to  run  into  ruin,  and 
now  we  will  hold  them  until  the  troubles  are 
over.  That  is  the  way  I  feel  on  the  subject. 
I  wish  to  refer  to  one  or  two  things  while  I 
am  up,  as  I  do  not  expect  to  address  the  Con- 
vention again.  There  is  an  inclination  on  the 
part  of  some  radical  men  to  charge  a  man,  be- 
cause he  is  not  in  f.tvor  of  a  particular  set  of 
view*,  ;is  being  favorable  to,  or  as  sympathiz- 
ing with  this  rebellion,  or,  in  other  words,  a 
secessionist.  Now,  I  think  that  is  wrong.  I 
have  opposed  measures  here  that  would,  per- 
haps, place  me  in  that  category:  but  I  can  say> 
bef"re  God  and  this  Convention,  that  there  is 
not  a  drop  of  dMoyal  blood  in  my  veins,  and 
my  course  has  indicated  that.  I  hnve  been 
connected  since  these  troubles  commenced,  or 
for  a  year,  engaged  in  the  publication  of  a 
Union  paper,  and  I  know  there  has  m-ver  been 
a  disloyal  sentiment  breathed  through  its  col- 
umns since  I  have  been  connected  with  it.  I 
know  th-it,  bpcause  I  have  opposed  the  intro- 
duction of  a  resolution  into  this  Convention  on 
emancipation,  that  I  may  be  by  some  radicals 
regarded  as  favoring  secession  principles — of 
possessing  those  proclivities.  My  object  has 
been,  and  shall  be  until  our  present  difficulties 
are  settled,  to  avoid  the  agitation  of  any  ques- 
tion calculated  to  distract  the  Union  party  in 
the  State  of  Missouri.  Whatever  may  have 
been  th*>  desiie  of  the  Convention  on  ihnt  sub- 
ject, I  know  it  was  my  object  to  keep  down 
ctrife  in  the  Union  par'y  in  the  State  of  Mis- 


124 


souri.     It  is  urged  lhat  this  question  will  be 
thrust  upon  us,  and  I  have  no  doubt  there  are 
radical  rnen  who  will  use  every  means  to  force 
it   upon   the   people.     We,   as    a    body,  have 
hitherto    acted   upon   conservative  ptinciples. 
We  have  acted  in  harmony  during  the  troubles 
in    our   country  and  through  which  we  have 
passed,   and  I  feel   in   hopes  that  during  the 
existence  of  our  present  troubles  we  will  con- 
tinue to  act  in  harmony.     I  must  say,  how- 
ever, in  justice  to  my  friend  from  St.  Louis, 
that  the  proposition  introduced  by  him  had  a 
fairness  about  it  that  would  have  recommended 
itself  to  the  faithful  consideration  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Missouri ;  but  I  hold  that,  this  is  not  the 
time  to  investigate  that  thing,  and  I  do  hope 
that  nothing  will  come  up  in  this  Convention 
to  mar  the  peace  and  fraternal  expression  that 
has  hitheito  prevailed.     Now,   Mr.   President, 
in  regaid  to  this  proposition,  I  shall  vote  for 
it.     The  man  that  is  disposed  to  persist  in  his 
sympathies  with  the  rebellion,  ought    not  to 
have  a  voice  in  saying  who   shall  administer 
the  Government  of  the  State  of    Missouri,  or 
who  shall   make  the  laws.     He  has  foifeited 
all  right  to  protection  under  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  and  he  ought  to  be  satis- 
fied if  we  are  willing  to  receive  him  back,  and, 
under  certain  contingencies,  allow  him  to  re- 
main here  and  not  vote.  We  expect  loyal  mer 
to  govern  their  country  hereafter,  and  none  but 
loyal  men. 

Mr.  SKA.NKLIN  moved  to  amend  by  striking 
out  the  17th  December,  1861,  and  insert  June 
10th,  1862.  I  offer  that  amendment  because  I 
think  it  will  be  considered  as  a  compromis 
measure  ;  it  at  once  robs  the  ordinance  of  its 
retrospective  features.  It  is  calculated,  how 
ever,  to  exclude  all  those  hardened  sinners 
who  are  still  in  rebellion. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.    I  wish  to  address  the 
Convention. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.     I  believe  we  have 
a  rule  that  no  gentleman  shall  speak  a  secon 
time  until  all  others  have  had  an  opportunity 
to  speak  once. 

Mr.  BKECKINRIDGE.  I  only  ask  to  repl} 
very  briefly  to  the  argument  of  the  gentlema 
from  Jackson. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  gentleman  mus 
confine  Ivmself  to  the  amendment  offered  b 
the  gentleman  from  Grundy  (Mr.  Shanklin). 
Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  will  not  be  confine 
in  that  way,  but  trust  to  the  courtesy  of  tl 
House  hereafter. 


Mr.  IRWIN.     I  do  not  desire  to  detain  the 
onvention  but  a  few  minutes  ;  but,  sir,  I  de- 
re,  before  I  cast  my  vote  on  that  proposition, 
)  make  a  remark  or  two.     Now,  sir,  it  seems 
>  me  the  impression  of  gentlemen  in  this  Con- 
ention  that  the  object  of  restricting  the  right 
f  suffrage,  as  proposed  by  the   amendment 
ffered  by  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis,  is  to 
nflict  punishment  upon  those  who  have  been 
n  open  rebellion  against  the  Government  of 
he  United  States,  and  the  Provisional  Govern- 
nent  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  is  a  mistaken 
ne.     I  hope,  sir,  that  there  is  no  member  of 
his  Convention  who  would  at  a  time  like  this 
e  actuated  by  any  such  motive.     I  come  not 
ere,  sir,  to  inflict  punishment  upon  any  man 
rlio  has  been  engaged  in  the  existing  rebellion, 
came,  as  I  hope,  sir,  actuated  by  a  higher, 
lobler  purpose.     I  came  here,  sir,  to  legislate, 
o  act  and  to  speak  with  direct  reference  to  the 
afety  of  the  State ;  and  I  hold  that,  leaving 
>ut  of  question  entirely  what  those  who  have 
seen  engaged  in  rebellion  deserve  as  to  punish- 
ment, the   safety  of  the   State  requires   that 
here  should  be  restrictions  placed  upon  the 
right  of  suffrage.     I  hold  further,  sir,  that  the 
safety  of  the  State  requires  that  those  men 
who  have  taken  up    arms    and    levied   war 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
should  be   denied  the  right  of  casting  their 
votes  in  the  election  of  officers  at  the  approach- 
ng  election.     Now,  sir,  I  am  of  the  opinion 
that  if  an  election  takes  place  for  State  and 
!ounty  officers  on  the  first   Monday  of  Au- 
gust next,  that  unless  this  restriction  is  placed 
upon  the  right  of  suffrage,  you  will  have  in 
this  hall  next  winter  a  disloyal  Legislature.   It 
may  be  said  if  the  members  of  the  next  Legis- 
lature are  disloyal,  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment and  the  military  power  can  interfere  and 
prevent  disastrous   results  that  might  follow 
the  legislation  of  that  body.     But,  sir,  I  for 
one,  as  a  member  of  this  Convention— I,  sir,  as 
a  citizen  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  never  want 
to  see  a  state  of  things  of  that  kind  again  ex- 
isting in  this  State.    I  deprecate   it;   and  if 
there  was  no  other  reason  to  induce  me  to 
vote  for  a  measure  of  that  kind,  the  bare  pos- 
sibility of  such  a  state  of  things  in  the  future 
would  be  sufficient  to  induce  me  to  cast  my 
vote  in  favor  of  this  amendment.    Now,  sir,  I 
do  not  know  as  much  about  other  sections  of 
the  ^tate  as  I  do  about  my  own.     I  live  in  a 
county  that,  save  one,  has,  perhaps,  a  stronger 
Union  element  in  it  than  any  county  in  north- 
east Missouri,  and  yet  I  believe  to  day  that  if 


125 


an  election  is  held  on  the  first  Monday  in  Au- 
gust, and  tliis  restriction  is  not  placed  on  the 
right  of  suffrage,  that  those  who  have  hereto- 
fore been  in  sympathy  with  this  rebellion  can 
elect  the  man  of  their  choice  to  represent  Shel- 
by county  in  the  next  Missouri  Legislature. 
And  this  I  believe  to  be  true,  and  if  it  is  true 
in  regard  to  that  county  which,  as  I  have  said, 
has  a  stronger  Union  element  that  any  other 
county  in  North  Missouri,  it  must  be  true  in 
reference  to  a  majority  of  the  Convention  in 
this  State.  Now,  I  tell  you  I  do  not  want  to 
run  any  such  risks.  Missouri  to-day  is  loyal, 
and  I  want  her  to  remain  so.  With  these  re- 
strictions placed  upon  the  right  of  suffrage,  I 
am  of  the  opinion  we  run  no  risk  in  holding 
an  election  on  the  first  Monday  in  August. 
But  there  is  another  thought.  It  may  be  said 
if  you  pass  this  amendment,  and  place  these 
restrictions  upon  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  dis- 
franchise a  portion  of  the  citizens  of  the  State, 
you  will  fail  to  reach  the  worst  men  in  the 
State ;  that  you  will  fail  to  meet  the  class  of 
men  who  have  done  more  harm,  and  exerted 
an  influence  more  deleterious,  than  those  in 
open  rebellion  against  the  Government.  I 
admit  it,  sir ;  because  I  hold  that  that  man  who 
has  stayed  at  home  working  behind  the  cur- 
tain, exerting  all  the  influence  which  he  pos- 
sessed to  induce  others  to  take  up  arms  and 
engage  in  open  rebellion — that  man  is  ten-fold 
more  guilty,  and  infinitely  meaner  and  more 
contemptible,  than  the  man  who  has  shouldered 
his  gun  and  gone  into  the  rebellion.  The  man 
who  has  thus  taken  up  arms  has  given  some 
evidence  of  his  sincerity  ;  but  the  man  who  has 
stayed  at  home  and  exerted  a  secret  influence, 
doing  no  overt  act  that  would  render  him 
liable  to  be  arrested  by  the  military  authori- 
ties ;  that  man  has  proven  himself  to  be  a  trai- 
tor at  heart,  and  yet  not  having  the  courage  to 
prove  his  sincerity  by  his  works.  I  may  re- 
mark, further,  that  if  there  was  any  practical 
mode  of  getting  at  these  men,  I  would  go  for 
disfranchising  in  this  indirect  manner;  yea, 
even  directly,  sir,  every  man  who  has  even 
sympathized  with  those  men  in  rebellion.  Sir, 
it  has  been  clearly  shown  that  there  are  no 
words  that  you  can  use,  in  a  legal  signification, 
that  will  reach  men  of  that  character,  and  as 
we  cannot  reach  them,  and  as  we  can  reach 
the  men  who  have  been  in  open  rebellion,  let 
us  go  as  far  as  we  can  in  order  to  secure  the 
safety  of  the  State.  It  seems  to  me  we  should 
be  satisfied  that,  if  the  safety  of  the  State  re- 
quired, then  restrictions  should  be  placed  on 


the  right  of  suffrage  ;  that  then,  as  men  repre- 
senting this  great  State,  as  men  upon  whom  a 
responsibility  rests  greater  than  upon  any  other 
deliberative  body,  we  should  be  prepared  to 
act  regardless  of  the  effect  it  will  have  upon 
us  as  citizens  of  Missouri.  Whether  you  or  I 
sink  or  swim  during  this  contest  is  a  matter  of 
small  consideration.  I  therefore  hope  that 
the  amendment,  as  offered  by  the  gentleman 
from  St.  Louis,  will  be  passed. 

Mr.  SMITH  of  Linn.  It  has  been  often  an- 
nounced by  the  chair  that  gentlemen  could  ex- 
plain their  votes  prior  to  calling  their  names, 
and  I  desire  to  give  the  reasons  which  will  in- 
duce me  to  vote  as  I  intend  at  the  proper  time. 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  discuss  the  constitutional 
right  of  this  Convention  to  pass  this  ordinance. 
With  all  due  deference  to  those  gentlemen 
who  differ  with  me,  and  have  constitutional 
objections,  I  believe  they  are  unfounded,  and 
I  presume  that  this  Convention  is  now  fully 
satisfied  that  this  power  and  this  right  are 
clearly  established.  After  the  Governor  of  the 
State,  the  Legislature,  and  other  officers,  for 
conduct  committed  prior  to  their  deposition — 
after  prescribing  the  oath  to  all  men  who  were 
in  office,  and  deposing  them  when  they  failed 
to  take  the  oath  prescribed — I  suppose  that 
the  Convention  at  this  time  is  fully  satisfied 
that  the  right  and  the  power  to  prescribe  this 
test  to  the  voter  exist  beyond  question. 

I  look  upon  this  proposition,  Mr.  President, 
as  the  most  important  proposition  that  has  been 
presented  for  the  action  of  this  Convention,  or 
that,  perhaps,  will  be  presented.  I  have  lis- 
tened with  patience  and  with  great  attention  to 
the  arguments  of  the  gentlemen  who  oppose  the 
adoption  of  the  amendment  proposed  by  the 
gentleman  from  St.  Louis ;  and,  to  my  mind,  if 
their  statements  and  declarations  are  generally 
true,  then  all  these  are  the  strongest  reasons 
why  we  should  adopt  this  amendment.  The 
gentleman  from  Jackson  (Mr.  Coniingo)  says 
nothing  can  eradicate  the  virus  of  secession 
from  the  hearts  of  those  who  have  engaged  in 
the  rebellion,  and  yet  he  says  he  would  allow 
them  to  come  to  the  polls  side  by  side  with 
men  who  have  never  faltered  in  their  devotion 
to  the  Union.  Sir,  I  don't  understand  such 
contradictory  philosophy.  If  what  the  gentle- 
men from  Jackson  and  Monroe  have  said  be  true, 
it  is  a  conclusive  argument  why  this  amend- 
ment should  be  passed ;  and  what  they  have 
so  emphatically  declared  stands  uncontradicted 
by  any  other  gentleman  on  this  floor,  except 
the  gentleman  from  Clinton  (Mr.  Birch).  That 


126 


gentleman  stated  broadly,  in  terms  that  could 
not  be  misunderstood,  that  men  from  Price's  ar 
my  had  returned  home,  and  were  now  as  loyal  as 
himself.  Sir,  if  any  other  gentleman  had  sait 
this— that  men  who  had  openly,  and  in  the  face 
of  the  country,  taken  up  arms  to  put  down  the 
Union  and  destroy  it — men  with  the  dust  o 
battle  against  the  flag  of  our  country  still  upon 
them,  were  as  loyal  as  the  gentleman  from 
Clinton  (Mr.  Birch; — Is:  oul>  have  pronounced 
it  a  slander  ;  but  when  he  says  so  himself  I  have 
no  right  to  deny  it.  Sir,  what  would  you  think 
of  me  if  I  were  to  say  that  the  man  charged 
and  convicted  upon  his  own  confession  as  a 
horse  thief  was  as  honest  as  other  men  who 
never  did  steal ? 

Mr.  President,  the  gentleman  from  Clinton, 
in  his  remarks  read  to  the  Convention  the  other 
day,  said  he  had  not  helped  secessionists,  but 
had  only  tried  to  get  them  to  help  him.  This 
fact,  perhaps,  may  have  led  him  to  remark  that 
a  traitor  was  as  loyal  as  he  was  ;  and  such  re- 
marks as  these,  Mr.  President,  lead  me  to  be- 
lieve that  it  is  unsafe  to  permit  an  election 
next  August,  without  we  restrict  the  voters — 
without  we  restrict  those  men  who  have  re- 
belled and  taken  up  arms  against  the  Govern- 
ment ;  for,  as  remarked  by  the  gentleman  on 
Saturday,  although  you  may  impose  restric- 
tions upon  each  candidate— although  you  may 
require  him  to  swear  to  anything  that  one  would 
suppose  would  answer — yet,  sir,  from  the  de- 
claration of  the  gentleman  from  Clinton,  and 
from  the  manner  in  which  he  has  been  acting, 
and  pandering  to  the  rebels,  in  my  judgment 
it  is  unsafe  to  risk  an  election,  unless  you  re- 
strict the  voters. 

Mr.  President,  the  effort  with  some  gentle- 
men seems  to  be  all  the  time  to  conciliate  trai- 
tors. Indeed,  they  seem  to  think  there  is  no 
one  to  be  conciliated  but  them.  They  forget 
that  there  a.re  Union  men  in  Missouri  to  whom, 
as  between  classes  of  men,  we  owe  our  highest 
and  first  duty.  Now,  sir,  at  the  beginning  of 
our  troubles  the  Union  men  everywhere  used 
to  beg  the  secessionists  to  forbear ;  to  be  con- 
ciliated ;  but,  sir,  they  would  not  heed  our  ap- 
peals for  peace,  until  we  took  up  arms  and  con- 
quered a  peace.  And  now,  sir,  we  are  compla- 
cently told  we  must  not  "exasperate"  but  con- 
ciliate these  same  traitors  whom  we  tried  to 
conciliate  before  our  troubles  began.  Sir,  I  do 
not  doubt  for  a  moment  that  these  men  would 
be  eminently  "  conciliated"  if  we  would  turn 
over  to  them  the  reins  of  government  and  al- 
low them  to  rule  !  I  want  the  gentlemen  here 


who  have  such  tender  sympathies  for  the  men 
just  returned  from  Price's  army,  to  tell  us  what 
condition  of  affairs  we  would  have  if  these 
objects  of  their  intense  sympathy  should  ever 
get  the  power  of  our  State  government  in  their 
hands?  Would  we  have  peace?  Would  we 
have  conciliation  and  Union  ?  Far  from  it. 
Sir,  I  remind  gentlemen  that  there  are  others 
besides  rebels  who  have  claims  upon  our  sym- 
pathy, and  whom  we  should  conciliate.  Sir,  I 
represent  Union  men  here,  and  I  know  full 
well  where  they  would  place  me,  if  I  were  to 
vote  against  this  amendment.  They  would 
place  me,  and  1  think  justly,  too,  with  rebels 
and  secession  sympathizers. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  risked  too  much  al- 
ready by  indulgence,  and  by  sympathy  for 
these  traitors.  Now,  when  we  have  forced 
them  to  acknowledge  our  power  and  to  lay 
down  their  arms,  I  say  we  have  suffered  too 
much  to  be  willing,  alter  they  have  failed  to 
whip  us  and  conquer  us,  that  they  shall  come 
in  now  and  grasp  the  civil  offices  and  rule  the 
loyal  men  of  Missouri.  I  am  unwilling  to  risk 
them.  I  am  willing  to  do  them  justice,  and  to 
treat  them  kindly,  and  to  see  that  they  are  pro- 
perly protected  in  person  and  property,  and  I 
think  that  is  all  they  have  a  right  to  ask,  espe- 
cially at  this  time.  It  would  be  wrong,  in  my 
udgment,  to  let  one  single  one  of  them  vote. 
This  proposition  does  not  go  as  far  as  I  desire. 
My  wish  is  to  exclude  every  man  who  has  ta- 
ken up  arms  against  his  Government,  and  make 
no  distinction  ;  because,  sir,  when  this  Conven- 
tion, by  an  ordince  passed  at  the  last  session, 
asked  them  to  return  home  and  lay  down  their 
arms,  it  made  no  promise  that  they  should 
lave  the  right  to  hold  office.  It  only  promised 
hem  protection  ;  it  only  guarantied  to  them  an 
amnesty  against  further  prosecution.  Those 
vho  returned  within  that  time  are  entitled  to 
hat  amnesty,  but  they  have  no  right  to  claim 
or  demand  of  us  one  single  privilege  that  those 
,vho  have  been  loyal  can  claim.  I  shall,  there- 
ore,  vote  against  the  proposition  of  the  gentle- 
man from  Grundy,  and  vote  for  the  amendment 
•f  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  The  members  of  this  Conven- 
ion  will  bear  me  testimony  that  I  have  not 
ought  this  discussion,  and  that  I  have  thus 
ar  declined  to  participate  in  this  controversy  ; 
>ut  I  have  no  right  to  further  pursue  such  a 
:ourse,  after  the  speech  of  the  gentleman  from 
-.inn,  in  which -I  am  made  to  figure  so  conspic- 
uously. I  shall,  therefore,  be  compelled,  in 
ustice  to  myself,  to  speak  a  few  words,  just 


127 


as  they  occur  to  me.    I  cannot  better  answer  the 
gentleman's  proposition  than  by  recurring  to 
the  tact  that  this,  in  a  very  essential  degree,  is 
a  war  of  opinions.     Sir,  the  most  astute  people 
in  the  country— many  of  them,  also,  as  upright 
e  rest  of  us — have  argued  the  right  of  a 
State  to  secede,   sincerely  believing  it  to  be 
true.     1  repeat,  that  idea  has   been  embraced 
by  some  of  the  greater  minds  ot  the  country, 
espec  ally  that  portion  educated  in  the  Southern 
schools  ;  and  they  hence  teach  it  to  others  as 
the  true  construction  of  our  form  of  govern- 
ment, that  a  State  has  the  right  to  secede,  as 
so  many  have  done.     Others  believe  that  the 
State  has  a  great  revolutionary  right  going  be- 
yond all  constitutions,  and  that  it  may  become 
its  very  manhood  to  secede  from  the  Govern- 
ment  of  the   Union;    and   it  is  within  your 
memory  and  mine,  Mr.  President,  that  these 
arguments   were  plidd  with  the   utmost  zeal 
throughout  this  State.     It  is,  indeed,  but  s  rn- 
ple  just  ce  to  the  very  rebel  to  whom  the  gen- 
tleman has  alluded,  to  add  that  even  his  mind 
is  so  constituted  that  he  believes  in  his  heart  of 
hearts  that  it  is  part  and  parcel  of  the    Consti- 
tution that  a  State  has  a  right  to  secede,  and 
many  of  the  young  men  of  my  county  have 
followed  him  into  his  regiment  with  that  belief. 
I  throw  out,  of  course,  the  arch-traitors  who 
have  simply  availed  themselves  of  an  opportu 
nity  in  such  a  crisis  to  carry  out  what  they  had 
been  plotting  for  years ;  but  I  repeat,  sir,  tha 
the  opinions  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  o 
the  South  are  based  upon  the  theory  I  have  al- 
luded to ;  and  that  this  war,  therefore,  in  the 
main  aspects,  is,  so  far  at  least,  a  war  of  opin- 
ions ;  that,  in  all  the  proclamations  of  the  Con 
federate  Generals,  they  address  their  soldiers 
as  men  who  are  fighting  for  their  independence 
their  rights,  and  all  that, — a  proposition  which 
I  need  not,  of  course,  either  controvert  or  elab 
orate,  inasmuch  as  it  is  but  intended  as  a  pre 
liminary  or  foundation  for   what  I  may  say 
hereafter. 

My  friends  will  bear  me  record  that  while 
the  gentleman  seems  to  impute  to  me  that  I  am 
seeking  the  votes  of  these  men  by  pandering 

to  

Mr.  SMITH  of  Linn.    I  was  only  quoting  th 
gentleman's  own  words. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  do  not  take  it  with  discourtesy 
as  I  readily  allow  all  latitude  belonging  to 
politician,  in  which  position  circumstances  hav 
placed  me.  I  was  going  to  say  that,  havin 
been  a  prisoner  of  war  for  a  few  days  on  Sa 
river,  I  deem  it  a  duty  to  the  State,  and  to  my 


constituents,  to  recur,  very  briefly  in  this  con- 
nection, to  what  I  learned  in  that  camp.     It 
suffices  to  say,  therefore,  without  the  violation 
of  any  rule  of  propriety,  that  I  met  men  there 
who  had  never  heard  of  our  proclamation  of 
amnesty,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe — I  will 
not  say  I  know  it, — but  I  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve ihat  it  was  excluded  from  the  rank  and  file 
of  Price's  army.    At  all  events,  I  did  not  meet 
soldier  there,   who  had  been  there  all  the 
me,  that  had  ever  heard  of  such  a  thing.     So 
much  for  that,  in  opposition  to  the  amendment 
f  the   gentleman  from    St.   Louis ;   and   for 
which  reason,  I  shall  support  the  amendment  to 
tie  amendment.     I  met  others  who  had  heard 
f  it,  and  a  portion  of  those  who  carried  me  out 
here,  told  me  f.  ankly  that  it  was  their  purpose, 
as  soon  as  their  term  of  enlistment  expired, 
o  return  home  and  become  good  citizens,  and 
hey  have  done  so.     These  men  came  to  know 
hat  we  were  magnanimous  and  soldier-like 
and  forgiving,  and  three  of  them  from  my  sec- 
ion   of  the    State  declared  their  purpose  to 
come  home  as  soon  as  the  term  of  their  enlist- 
nent  expired,   and  they  did   so.      Yet,   this 
amendment  would  compel  these  men,  who  are 
now  at  home  cultivating  their  fields,  to  swear 
that  they  had  not  been  in  Price's  army.     Mr. 
President,  I  have  reason  to  suppose  that  all 
through  the  State  there  are  men  who  would  be 
similarly   and   wrongfully  excluded    by    this 
amendment,  as  I  will  read  presently  from  the 
Missouri  Democrat,  which  I  picked  up  in  the 
Provost  Marshal  General's  office,  where  I  had 
the  honor  of  being  invited  some  time  since. 
But  further:  it  happened  that  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral Price  was  brought  a  prisoner  to  St.  Louis, 
while  I  was  in  that  city  last  spring.     His  cap- 
tor was  a  magnanimous  soldier,  who  extended 
to  him  the  freedom  of  the  city,  and  he  came  to 
see  me  at  the  Planter's  House.     He  had  a  con- 
versation with  me,  and  it  suffices  to  say  that  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  if  he  were  allowed 
to  go  home  to  his  family  there  could  not  only 
no  detriment  result  to  my  Government,  but  that 
it  would  have  a  better  effect  than  the  arming  of 
a  battalion  of  sharpshooters.    I  went,  therefore, 
to  General  Halleck  ;  told  him  what  I  knew  in 
regard  to  the  case,  and  subsequently  put  my 
statement  in    writing.     I  but  add,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, that  Price  was  not  only  paroled  and  re- 
turned home,  but  that,  in  the  spirit  of  a  true 
soldier,  his  swo;d  and  his  war  horse  were  re- 
stored to  him. 

I  will  now  read  from  the  Democrat  what  I 
can  but  regard  as  at  least  a  verification  of  the 


128 


opinion  I  expressed  to  General  Halleck,  am 
which  may  have  had  at  least  some  influence 
upon  his  treatment  of  Price  : 

"Price's  Soldiers  Returning  Home. 

"  A  gentleman  who  has  spent  several  months 
in  Howard  and  adjacent  counties,  informs  us 
that  hundreds  of  Price's  men  who  went  from 
that  portion  of  the  State  are  returning  home, 
glad  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  give 
bonds,  as  the  condition  of  release.  He  states 
that  the  number  of  such  is  estimated  at  up- 
wards of  three  thousand.  They  declare  them- 
selves sick  of  the  rebellion,  sorry  they  went 
into  it,  and  anxious  to  see  peace  re-established." 

It  is  thus  seen  upon  the  authority  of  the 
Democrat  that  in  the  military  district  in  which 
resided  the  General  who  was  so  magnanimously 
released  by  Halleck,  three  thousand  soldiers 
have  come  home  and  are  now  Union  men.  Yet 
it  is  proposed  by  this  amendment  to  disfran- 
chise these  three  thousand  men,  who,  the 
Democrat  says,  are  even  anxious  for  peace !  Will 
you  do  it?  We  will  see,  Mr.  President,  when 
the  ayes  and  noes  are  called  on  the  passage  of 
this  amendment.  Here  are  three  thousand  of 
these  men  from  a  single  district.  -Who  can 
tell  how  many  there  are  from  others  ?  These 
men,  or  many  of  them  at  least,  were  doubtless 
inveigled  into  this  war  upon  the  false  theory  of 
State  rights.  They  were  taught  to  believe  a 
State  had  a  right  to  secede  when  she  deemed 
herself  wronged.  Yet  these  men  are  again  at 
home,  and,  in  the  very  language  of  this  article, 
are  anxious  for  the  restoration  of  peace.  It  is 
of  such  men  as  these  I  speak,  when  I  concede 
that,  for  aught  that  appears  to  the  contrary, 
they  are  now  again  as  loyal  as  I  am — a  decla- 
ration I  am  not  ashamed  to  repeat,  and  will 
not,  of  course,  retract.  I  believe  they  were 
mistaken,  and  are  now  convinced  of  their  mis- 
take, and  have  honestly  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  secession  was  wrong.  Let  gentle- 
men, therefore,  make  the  most  they  can  of 
that  declaration.  There  is  more  of  this  para- 
graph from  the  Democrat,  but  it  is  not  pertinent 
to  this  investigation.  It  relates  to  another 
class — to  those  who  have  staid  at  home,  and 
have  not  gone  into  the  army— and  which  need 
not,  therefore,  be  here  recited.  I  was  going 
to  remark,  Mr.  President,  that  these  men  are 
presumed  to  have  returned  home,  and  accepted 
Gen.  Halleck's  oath,  which  was  our  own  Con- 
vention oath.  The  legal  presumption  is,  they 
came  home  with  the  idea  of  taking  this  oath, 
and  they  have  taken  it,  and  are  now  in  the 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  good  citizenship,  and 


yet  it  is  proposed  to  exclude  them  from  the 
rights  of  citizenship.  Now,  Mr.  President,  take 
the  district  that  has  been  alluded  to  as  an  aver- 
age; how  many  men  in  the  State  would  be 
excluded  ?  I  think  it  proper  in  this  connexion 
to  apprise  the  Convention  that  there  was  a 
class  of  men  Avho  were  being  enlisted  for  three 
months'  service,  when  I  was  in  Price's  army, 
about  the  middle  of  last  November.  There 
was  a  class  of  men  whose  terms  of  enlistment 
would  expire  in  one  month,  two  months,  three 
months,  and,  I  believe,  a  half  a  month ;  and 
that  many  whose  terms  thus  expired,  instead  of 
going  into  the  Confederate  service,  as  Hughes 
did,  and,  as  the  papers  informed  us,  five  thou- 
sand others  did,  came  home  in  February,  and 
at  other  times,  and  are  at  this  moment  peaceable 
and  loyal  citizens  of  the  State,  yet  who,  by  the 
terms  of  this  amendment,  are  to  be  disfranchised 
of  the  most  sensitive  right  of  citizenship. 

A  word,  Mr.  President,  in  relation  to  what  has 
been  so  often  alluded  to  here,  as  to  the  danger 
of  electing  disloyal  men  to  office.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  in  parts  of  this  State,  and  I  hope 
there  may  be  many  parts  of  it — in  every  coun- 
ty, indeed,  I  trust — that  citizens  may  be  elect- 
ed to  the  various  public  employments,  high 
and  low,  who  are  disloyal  in  the  sense  which  I 
spoke  of  yesterday,  and  who  are,  consequently, 
loyal  to  the  State  and  its  institutions  as  well  as 
to  those  of  the  United  States.  The  class  of  men 
I  spoke  of  are  disloyal  in  the  sense  alone  to 
which  fify-two  of  us  committed  ourselves  in 
the  vote  we  have  already  given  upon  a  propo- 
sition similar  to  the  one  now  pending;  and  it  is 
trusted  that  every  county  in  this  State  will 
elect  men  disloyal  in  that  respect.  And  while 
I  cast  no  imputation  on  the  judgment  of  the 
ommittee,  I  believe,  nevertheless,  that  the 
main  purpose  of  this  disfranchising  proposition 
s  to  disfranchise  men  who  are  now  as  true  and 
oyal  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
as  they  ever  were,  but  who  are  at  the  same 
time  true  and  loyal  to  the  institutions  of  the 
State  of  Missouri ;  and  intend,  if  their  votes  can 
srevent  it,  not  to  see  the  State  abolitionized,  as 
the  effect  of  the  coming  elections.  I  will  add, 
^virile  I  am  up,  that  if  gentlemen  will  bring 
forward  a  proposition  with  reference  to  men 
jv\\o  are  in  the  Confederate  service,  and  who 
vent  beyond  the  requirements  of  our  State 
aw,  as  General  Price  and  others  have  done,  I 
will  vote  for  such  a  proposition.  I  have  no 
lympathy  with  those  who  are  trying  to  over- 
brow  the  Government  of  the  United  States ; 
and  let  gentlemen  bring  forward  a  proposition 


129 


to  exclude  them,  and  they  will  find  me  ready 
both  to  discuss  it  and  to  vote  for  it.  My  theory 
is,  that  if  I  am  wronged  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  I  will  not  break  up  that  Gov- 
ernment, but  will  seek  to  obtain  my  rights 
under  it.  This  is  my  theory  ;  and  I  have  turned 
it  over  so  fully  in  my  mind  as  to  feel  reasonably 
certain  that  I  shall  remain  forever  loyal  to  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  but  it  is  to  be 
the  Government  with  all  its  guaranties  of  "life, 
liberty,  and  property." 

My  opinion  of  the  class  of  men  who,  the 
Democrat  says,  have  "  seen  enough  of  the 
elephant,"  is,  that  they  will  seek,  as  sedulously 
as  the  most  intelligent  and  steady  Union  man 
can,  (because  their  experience  has  satisfied 
them  of  their  past  errors,)  to  find  and  place  in 
the  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  people  such  men  as 
will  hold  the  State  to  her  appropriate  national 
moorings.  That  is  certainly  what  I  would  do 
myself,  had  I  been  found  in  error,  namely : 
seek  to  place  in  office  the  man  who  I  believed 
would  the  most  sedulously  avoid  even  an  ad- 
vance in  the  wrong  direction.  There  may  be 
bad  men  whom  we  cannot  reach,  but  that  is 
not  the  question  here.  The  question  here  is 
the  great  wrong  that  will  be  committed  upon 
men  who  are  deemed  to  be  good  men — three 
thousand  in  a  single  district,  according  to  the 
Democrat. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS.  I  ask  the  gentleman  from 
Clinton  if  he  believes  3,000  men  have  returned 
to  that  district,  or  that  3,000  men  ever  went 
from  that  district  into  Price's  army. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  have  no  authority  except 
what  I  have  read. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS.  Does  not  the  article  in  ques- 
tion state  it  as  being  the  declaration  of  men 
returning  from  Price's  army,  without  giving 
an  opinion  as  to  its  truth  or  falsity  ? 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  will  read  it  again,  sir.  [Mr. 
Birch  again  read  the  paragraph.]  Now  here 
is  a  gentleman,  a  friend  of  the  Democrat's,  and 
who  evidently  had  means  of  knowing,  who 
states  that  the  number  was  estimated  at  3,000. 
Of  course,  if  he  had  thought  otherwise  he 
would  have  stated,  "  my  opinion  is,  there  are 
not  so  many."  But  this  information  is  derived 
from  a  man  reliable  enough  to  be  quoted  as 
authority  by  the  Democrat. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  will  ask  the  gentleman 
to  read  the  whole  of  that  article. 

Mr.  BIRCH.     I  will  do  so  : 

"  He  says  the  disposition  of  this  class  is  far 
better  than  that  of  the  malignant  promoters  of 
rebellion,  who,  themselves  staying  at  home, 

9 


prompted  ardent  and  inconsiderate  young  men 
to  join  the  rebel  army.  These  malignants  are 
bitter  and  unrelenting,  and  some  of  them  en- 
courage guerrillas  in  their  predatory  move- 
ments, desiring  to  perpetuate  the  animosities 
and  hatred  they  have  been  active  in  creating. 
The  men  who  have  seen  the  elephant,  "  and 
had  enough  of  it,"  return  home  better  men, 
and  the  influence  of  such  in  their  neighbor- 
hood is  most  salutary. 

"  At  all  times  we  have  looked  upon  the  great 
mass  of  the  rebel  soldiery  as  being  far  less  guilty 
than  their  officers  and  instigators.  The  true 
policy  is  one  of  clemency  to  the  former,  and 
stringent  severity  to  the  latter." 

Now  I  submit,  respectfully,  that  the  gentle- 
man's proposition  is  strangely  discordant  with 
that  theory.  It  is  presumable  that  these  men 
who  have  returned  home  have  done  so  in  the 
reliance  that  their  adversaries  in  this  Conven- 
tion and  elsewhere,  were  as  magnanimous  as 
they  were  brave,  and  for  one,  I  trust,  that  that 
is  no  undue  reliance.  Sir,  have  we  not  already 
strength  enough  in  the  laws  ?  I  but  allude  to 
the  fact  that  I  have  myself  been  recently  sum- 
moned before  the  United  States  Grand  Jury, 
in  order  to  suggest  that  we  have  yet,  as  here- 
tofore, within  this  State,  judicial  tribunals 
which  are  deemed  adequate  to  the  redress  of 
every  wrong  and  the  punishment  of  every 
crime.  We  have  State  courts,  and  State  grand 
juries,  United  States  courts  and  United  States 
grand  juries,  and  these  tribunals  are  capable 
of  rendering  legal  judgment  against  any  and 
every  man  against  whom  deliberate  or  legal 
guilt  can  be  established ;  and,  for  one,  I  do  not 
propose  to  go  beyond  the  law  as  it  was  written. 
It  is  upon  this  theory,  as  I  think,  that  we  may 
obtain  a  restoration  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union,  and  it  is  for  this  that  the  gallant  men 
who  are  sitting  among  us  in  military  costume 
have  come  from  their  regiments,  and  will  re- 
turn to  them  again  to  fight.  It  is  for  the  Union, 
the  Constitution,  and  the  laws,  that  your  sons 
and  my  sons  are  fighting  with  them — thus 
guaranteeing  that  every  free  white  man, 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  not  convicted  of 
any  infamous  crime,  may  exercise  the  white 
man's  right  to  vote  ! 

I  thank  the  Convention  for  the  courtesy 
with  which  they  have  listened  to  me,  and  re- 
gret that  circumstances  have  compelled  me  to 
say  even  the  little  I  have  said. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  wish,  Mr.  President, 
to  say  a  few  words,  and  very  briefly,  in  answer 
to  the  argument  of  the  gentleman  from  Jack- 


130 


son,  (Mr.  Comingo) — who,  lam  sorry  to  see,  is 
not  in  his  seat  at  this  moment — in  which  he 
expressed  certain  doubts  in  regard  to  the  con- 
stitutionality of  the  amendment,  which  I  have 
this  morning  offered.  To  my  mind  it  is  so 
clear  that  we  have  a  perfect  constitutional  right 
to  adopt  this  amendment,  that  I  had  really 
thought  it  unnecessary  to  say  a  word  on 
that  subject;  but  as  I  find  one  or  two  others 
here  sharing  the  same  doubts,  I  think  it  proper 
to  see  if  I  can  put  all  such  doubts  at  rest  by  one 
or  two  citations  of  undoubted  authorities,  and 
otherwise. 

First,  as  to  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of 
Missouri.  What  is  the  extent  of  its  power  over 
this  body  ?  We  have  by  the  most  solemn  acts, 
reaching  to  the  most  radical  extent,  declared, 
by  large  majorities,  over  and  over  again,  that 
the  only  limits  upon  our  power  are  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  and  our  estimate 
of  what  may  be  necessary  in  this  great  Nation- 
al crisis  to  preserve  the  institutions  of  the 
State,  and  protect  the  people  in  the  enjoyment 
of  their  rights  as  citizens  of  the  Union;  and 
that  our  duty  required  us  to  enactsuch  measures, 
whether  contemplated  by  the  people  at  the 
time  of  our  election  or  not,  as  were  necessary 
to  secure  the  public  peace  and  the  public  safety. 
Upon  no  other  ground  can  our  action  in  depos- 
ing Governor  Jackson,  and  in  sweeping  a  trai- 
torous Legislature  out  of  office  and  out  of  ex- 
istence, be  defended,  clearly  right  and  necessa- 
ry as  that  action  was.  The  only  question 
which  a  majority  of  the  members  of  this  body 
asked  with  regard  to  that  matter  was,  "  What 
does  the  public  safety  require  V — there  being 
no  hindrance  to  our  action  by  any  thing  con- 
tained in  the  Constitution  of  the  State,  since 
we  were  authorized  by  the  character  of  the 
body  itself,  and  even  by  the  terms  of  the  law 
under  which  we  were  elected,  to  deal  with  the 
organic  law  itself. 

If,  sir,  we  are  obliged  to  go  for  instructions 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Missouri  in 
regard  to  these  matters,  then  have  we  clearly, 
frequently,  perhaps  constantly,  disregarded  our 
duty.  Certainly  a  majority  of  the  members  of 
this  body  are  not  laboring  under  such  a  delu- 
eion  as  that. 

But  a  part  of  the  argument  of  the  gentleman 
from  Jackson  was,  that  this  amendment  being 
retrospective,  was  in  violation  of  the  provisions 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  because 
it  was  ex  post  facto.  Now,  what,  exactly,  is  the 
meaning  of  that  phrase  ?  What  is  an  ex  post 
facto  law  ?  It  is  the  attempt  to  make  that  crim- 


nal  which  was  not  criminal  when  committed. 
That  is  the  whole  thing.  It  is  perfectly  simple, 
and,  as  it  seems  to  me,  perfectly  conclusive  as 
to  the  matter  under  consideration.  But,  rather 
than  waste  words  of  my  own,  I  will  read  from 
a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  on  that  subject : 

'  The  clause  in  the  Federal  Constitution  con- 
cerning ex  post  facto  laws  extends  to  penal  stat- 
utes only,  and  does  not  extend  to  cases  affect- 
ing only  the  civil  rights  of  individuals." — Cal- 
der  8f  wife  against  Bull  $•  wife.  3  Dallas'  Reports, 
page  172. 

Again,  in  the  case  of  the  United  States  against 
Hall,  2d  Washington's  Reports,  page  366  : 

"  An  ex  post  facto  law  is  one  which,  in  its  op- 
eration, makes  that  criminal  or  penal  which 
was  not  so  when  the  action  was  performed,  or 
which  increases  its  punishment." 

Again,  in  the  case  of  Society,  &c.,  vs.  Whee- 
ler, 2  Gallison's  Reports,  page  138  : 

'The  clause  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  concerning  ex  post  facto  laws  does 
not  extend  to  civil  rights  or  remedies." 

Authorities  without  number  might  be  cited 
to  the  same  end,  but  I  do  not  think  it  necessary, 
Mr.  President,  to  say  anything  farther  in  re- 
gard to  that  matter. 

If  I  understood  the  gentleman  from  Jackson, 
(Mr.  Comingo,)  he  admitted  that  this  Conven- 
tion might  deal  with  the  qualifications  of  voters 
so  far  as  such  action  was  prospective ;  and  this, 
of  course,  I  presume,  no  one  will  question. 
But  he  argues  that  the  proposed  amendment 
being  retrospective,  and  determined  in  its  ap* 
plication  to  the  individual  citizen  by  his  past 
act,  is  ex  post  facto,  since  it  attaches  a  penalty 
not  denounced  against  the  act  when  it  was  com- 
mitted. Now,  sir,  in  addition  to  the  authorities 
I  have  already  quoted,  let  me  test  the  argu- 
ment by  asking  a  question.  If  this  body  should 
determine  so  to  modify  the  Constitution,  that 
whereas  now  voters  are  required  to  be  but  twen- 
ty-one years  of  age,  in  future  no  one  should  be 
allowed  to  vote  who  had  not  attained  the  age 
of  twenty-five  years,— I  suppose  my  friend, 
the  gentleman  from  Jackson,  would  not  doubt 
its  power  to  do  so ;  and  yet,  would  not  this  be, 
in  one  sense,  retrospective?  Would  it  not 
clearly  be  liable  to  the  objection  he  makes  to 
the  amendment  I  propose,  that  it  determines 
the  right  of  any  given  person  to  vote,  by  facts 
occurring  long  anterior  to  the  action  of  the 
body — by  the  time  of  his  birth  1  Clearly,  the 
objection  has  no  force  in  the  case  supposed. 


131 


And  yet,  what  more  force  has  it  in  the  case  un- 
der discussion  ?  It  is  proposed  to  apply  to  all 
voters  an  oath,  and  to  allow  none  to  vote  who 
cannot  truly  swear  that  they  have  not  taken  up 
arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  since  the 
17th  day  of  December,  1861.  Again,  sir,  I  do 
not  understand  that  it  can  be  considered  in  any 
proper  sense  of  that  term,  a  penalty.  We  sim- 
ply declare,  that  whereas  some  hundreds  or 
thousands  of  the  former  citizens  of  the  State 
have  been  in  arms  against  us,  seeking  to  destroy 
our  liberties,  and  the  liberties  of  the  whole 
people,  they  shall  not  aid  us  in  administer- 
ing the  Government,  nor  in  selecting  those  who 
are  to  frame  its  laws,  or  to  execute  them.  We 
declare  this,  not  as  a  punishment  for  the  crime 
of  treason — for  death  is  the  penalty  of  that  crime, 
and  God  forbid  that  we  should  attempt  to  make 
treason  so  trifling  a  matter  as  to  fix  this  as  the 
penalty.  But,  even  if  it  were  a  penalty  proper- 
ly, itdoes  notenlarge  orincrease  the  punishment 
denounced  already  by  the  law.  Surely,  gentle- 
men must  admit  that  as  a  strange  perversion  of 
constitutional  law,  which  justly  consigns  the 
traitor  to  a  felon's  death,  but  leaves  to  him,  by 
guaranties  we  cannot  impair,  the  right  to  aid 
in  moulding  the  policy,  framing  the  laws,  and 
administering  the  government,  of  a  State  and 
Nation  he  has  sought  to  destroy. 

The  gentleman  from  Randolph  (Mr.  Hall) 
presented  this  matter,  the  other  day,  in  its  true 
light.  He  said,  in  substance — I  cannot  recall 
his  words:  We  do  not  propose  to  punish 
these  men  in  this  way,  but  to  take  them  at  their 
word.  They  have  left  the  State  under  the  lead 
of  the  most  notorious  traitors,  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  and  with  the  fell  purpose  proclaimed 
that  they  were  seeking  to  destroy  the  Govern- 
ment and  its  institutions.  They  have,  by  this 
very  act,  virtually  declared  themselves  disfran- 
chised. But  gentlemen  here,  by  the  course  of 
their  argument,  virtually  say,  we  cannot  accept 
their  renunciation  of  the  right  to  vote;  that,  not- 
withstanding their  abominable  crimes,  we  are 
driven,  by  the  hard  necessities  imposed  on  us 
by  the  Constitution,  to  beg  and  beseech  them 
not  to  say  that  they  have  cut  themselves  off 
from  us  forever  !  And  we  are  asked  to  put  into 
their  mouth  penitent  words  beseeching  pardon ; 
and  then  to  put  them  on  a  level  of  perfect  equal- 
ity with  every  loyal  citizen  of  the  State. 

Sir,  I  love  mercy  and  magnanimity.  We  are 
taught  by  the  blessed  religion  which  some  of 
us,  I  know,  profess,  and  all  of  us  ought  to  prac- 
tise, to  cultivate  charity.  But  I  have  never 


understood  as  any  part  of  its  gentle  teachings 
that  we  should  be  so  eager  to  forget  the  crime 
and  to  forgive  the  criminal  as  to  take  him  again 
into  our  confidence  while  yet  impenitent,  or 
giving  no  sound  evidence  of  true  repentance, 
and  provide  for  him  new  means  with  which  to 
prosecute  his  evil  designs  against  us,  and  new 
weapons  to  thrust  into  our  bosom. 

Mr.  ORR.  Do  you  take  the  position  that  any 
criminal  or  penal  code  can  disfranchise  a  man 
without  a  trial  ? 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  No,  sir  ;  nor  do  I  think 
any  remark  I  have  made  tends  in  that  direc- 
tion. I  say  death  is  the  punishment  for  treason, 
and  is  so  declared  by  the  law. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  was  alluding  to  a  remark  made 
by  the  gentleman  from  Randolph. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  do  not  remember 
the  remark  to  which  the  gentleman  from 
Greene  (Mr.  Orr)  alludes.  Now,  the  men 
who  have  committed  these  acts  of  violence, 
who  have  been  guilty  of  this  crime  against  the 
the  nation  and  this  State — call  it  by  whatever 
name  you  please,  I  call  it  treason — have  thus 
virtually  declared  that  they  no  longer  desire 
to  be  citizens  of  Missouri ;  but  gentlemen,  in 
the  overflowing  tenderness  of  their  hearts — in 
the  overpowering  charity  which  seems  to  blind 
their  vision — can  think  and  speak  only  of  their 
vested  rights  as  citizens.  1  spoke,  a  moment 
since,  of  charity.  We  ought  to  cultivate  it :  it 
is  a  noble  virtue;  but  are  we  by  any  law,  or 
dictate  of  charity,  required  to  call  these  rebels 
back,  and  to  put  into  their  hands  new  weapons 
by  which  they  may  again  strike  deadly  blows 
at  our  bosoms  ?  I  think  not,  sir.  I  do  not 
think,  when  the  laws  of  every  State  in  the  Un- 
ion, and  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  have 
delared  death  as  the  proper  penalty  for  treason, 
that  a  man  who  has  sought  distinction  as  a  rebel 
leader,  or  as  a  rebel  private,  should  be  allowed  to 
come  back  unquestioned,  and  by  simply  announ- 
cing to  the  gentleman  from  Clinton  (Mr.  Birch) 
that  he  is  sorry  for  his  conduct,  that  he  is  sick 
of  the  rebellion,  and  that  he  wants  peace,  be  im- 
mediately re-clothed  with  all  the  rights  that 
gentleman  possesses,  and  with  all  the  rights  I 
possess.  I  would  deal  with  them,  as  far 
as  they  have  been  misguided  and  deluded — 
as  far  as  they  are  ignorant,  and  have  been  mis- 
led by  able  and  crafty  men — with  all  possible 
forbearance ;  and  I  am  sure,  if  it  be  true  that 
these  men  are  actuated  by  true  and  honest  im- 
pulses and  purposes,  and  are  sincere  in  their 
desire  to  return  to  their  allegiance,  they  will 
be  the  last  to  complain  that  we  have  put  upon 


132 


them  so  light  a  penalty.  The}'  will  be  eager, 
rather,  to  prove  by  their  ready  acquiescence  in 
whatever  measures  may  be  deemed  necessary 
for  the  safety  of  the  State,  the  genuineness  of 
their  repentance,  and  the  sincerity  of  their  pur- 
pose to  atone  for  all  the  evils  they  have  brought 
upon  us.  Show  me  a  truly  repentant  traitor, 
and  I  will  show  you  a  person  against  whom  I 
have  no  vindictive  feeling  whatever.  Show 
me  one  who  is  truly  repentant,  and  I  will  show 
you  a  man  who  will  bow  to  the  majesty  of  the 
law  that  says  to  him  :  "  Come  back  among 
your  former  fellow-citizens,  and  receive  and 
enjoy  the  protection  the  law  gives  to  the  best 
and  purest  of  our  people  ;  come  and  repose  un- 
der your  own  vine  and  fig  tree,  in  perfect  se- 
curity, so  far  as  any  new  penalty  is  concerned  ; 
but  remember  that  your  hands  are  polluted  with 
your  brother's  blood,  shed  without  a  cause ; 
that  you  have  endeavored  to  destroy  the  best 
and  noblest  government  upon  earth ;  and  that, 
for  the  present  at  least,  it  becomes  you  to  be 
content  with  this — that,  at  least  until  we  have 
tested  the  sincerity  of  your  sorrow,  you  cannot 
share  with  those  who  have  been  always  loyal 
the  full  privileges  and  responsibilities  of  per- 
fect citizenship  ;  that  shame,  seclusion,  silence, 
better  become  you,  than  participation  in  the 
earnest  but  bloodless  contests  of  free  citizens 
at  the  polls."  I  am  amazed  that  gentlemen 
should  allow  the  tenderness  of  their  hearts  to 
lead  them  into  anything'  feat  seems  to  me  so 
perfectly  vicious. 

I  wish,  in  response  to  a  remark  that  fell  from 
my  friend  on  the  left,  (Judge  Smith  of  Linn,) 
whose  advocacy  of  my  amendment  I  was  g'ad 
to  hear,  to  disabuse  hie  mind  upon  one  point. 
This  amendment  is  not  my  choice  at  all.  I 
would  rather — infinitely  rather — for  every  rea- 
son, that  this  Convention  should  determine 
that  those  men  who  have  been  concerned  in  the 
rebellion,  at  any  time,  should  not  vote  at  all; 
that  those  who  have  borne  arms,  and  levied 
war  against  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  at  any  time,  should  thereby  stand  dis- 
franchised ;  for  I  do  not  care  to  say  that,  up  to 
the  1st  of  August,  or  up  to  the  17th  of  Decem- 
•ber,  1861,  treason  was  so  light  a  thing  that  we 
•could  readily  forgive  it,  but  that,  after  that,  it 
became  a  serious  matter.  I  do  not  like  to  say 
that ;  and  if  I  can  induce  the  members  of  the 
Convention  to  agree  with  me,  I  will  most  glad- 
ly strike  out  all  dates,  and  let  the  exclusion  ap- 
ply to  all  past  time.  I  have  framed  this  amend- 
ment to  go  back  only  to  the  17th  of  December 
last,  because  I  feared  from  the  opinions  already 


expressed  this  body  would  not  be  willing,  in 
any  case,  to  go  further.  But,  in  asking  what 
is  here  proposed,  I  am  only  asking  what  it  is 
the  clear  duty  of  this  Convention  to  grant.  In 
asking  this  much,  I  speak  no  less  for  my  own 
constituency  than  for  thousands  of  loyal  men 
throughout  the  State,  and  urge  only  what  our 
own  interest  and  safety  clearly  require.  I  sim- 
ply ask  this  Convention  to  do  what  every  firm 
and  truly  loyal  man  has  demanded,  and  what 
is  pressed  upon  us  daily  by  letters,  by  petitions, 
by  articles  in  the  public  press,  and  by  constant 
expressions  of  popular  opinion  in  every  form. 
They  have  demanded  even  more  than  my 
amendment  asks  for. 

There  is  another  matter  to  which  I  wish 
briefly  to  allude.  The  gentleman  from  Clinton 
(Mr.  Birch)  has  spoken  of  the  amnesty  ordf- 
nance  formerly  adopted  by  this  body.  I  do  not 
understand  that  that  ordinance  provides,  in 
terms  or  by  implication,  that  those  who  have 
have  been  engaged  in  the  rebellion  shall  be 
clothed  again  with  all  the  civil  rights  they  have 
forfeited  by  their  treason.  I  do  not  understand 
that  any  one  can  claim  under  it  a  right  to  vote. 
It  provides  only  that  those  who,  having  been 
engaged  in  the  rebellion,  shall,  within  a  given 
brief  time  after  its  passage,  return  to  their  loy- 
alty, and  comply  with  certain  conditions,  shall, 
so  far  as  we  have  power  to  release  them,  be  ab- 
solved from  the  fearful  punishment  their  crimes 
deserve,  and,  perhaps,  adds  the  promise  to  in- 
terpose a  plea  in  their  behalf  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  I  do  not  under- 
stand that  this  Convention  has  ever  announced 
that  such  persons  shall  be  so  thoroughly  puri- 
fied of  all  sin,  as  that  their  treason  shall  be 
straightway  forgotten,  and  they  re-instated  in 
the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights  of  citizenship 
their  acts  have  forfeited.  We  promised  them 
security,  and  pardon  for  their  crimes,  so  far  as 
we  had  power  to  give  it ;  but  we  did  not  prom- 
ise that  we  would  do  anything  towards  the 
restoration  of  their  rights  at  the  ballot-box. 
But,  even  if  it  were  otherwise,  the  proposition 
I  have  submitted  in  no  way  conflicts  with  it, 
for  the  time  to  which  it  applies  is  chosen  be- 
cause it  is  the  very  day  on  which,  by  the  terms 
of  the  amnesty  ordinance,  the  right  to  claim 
protection  under  it  ceased.  Indeed,  sir,  the 
opposition  to  this  amendment  indicates  a  dis- 
position on  the  part  of  gentlemen  to  enlarge 
the  terms  of  that  amnesty,  or  to  declare  a  new 
one.  The  one  last  adopted,  as  the  Journals 
and  the  published  Debates  will  show,  was  adopt- 
ed against  my  vote  and  earnest  protest.  We 


133 


have  exhausted  forbearance  already  ;  we  have 
humbled  ourselves,  and  the  great  people  we 
represent,  by  the  frequency  and  the  importu- 
nity of  our  appeals  to  rebels  (who  continue  to 
defy  us,  to  deny  our  authority,  and  seek  to  de- 
stroy us)  to  return  and  accept  pardon.  The  pol- 
icy is  bad — it  is  ruinous.  When  we  have  crushed 
the  rebellion  and  restored  peace,  when  not  one 
rebellious  arm  is  raised,  or  word  uttered  with- 
in our  borders,  and  the  just  authority  of  the 
Government  is  fully  restored,  then,  sir,  we  may 
indulge  in  pardons  and  in  amnesties.  But  we 
have  enough  of  them  until  treason  is  at  an  end. 
Will  gentlemen  never  learn — will  no  experience 
satisfy  them — that  conciliation  will  not  answer  ; 
that  gentle  methods,  in  dealing  with  traitors, 
are  ruinous  ?  I  think  we  should  be  satisfied, 
sir,  by  this  time,  that,  to  use  their  own  phrase- 
ology, to  let  them  alone,  is  the  very  course  to  be 
pursued,  if  we  wish  to  make  traitors  most  vio- 
lent and  implacable  ;  and  that  just  in  proportion 
as  the  arm  of  the  Government  rests  heavily 
upon  them,  and  punishment  is  certain,  swift, 
and  terrible,  is  their  return  to  loyalty  likely  to 
be  speedy  and  thorough. 

Mr.  ALLEN.  Will  the  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis  give  way  for  a  motion  to  adjourn  1 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  thank  the  gentleman 
from  Harrison,  but  I  shall  occupy  but  a  few 
moments  more,  and  I  prefer  to  conclude  now 
what  I  have  to  say.  The  gentleman  from 
Clinton,  if  I  understood  him,  seemed  to  be  of 
the  opinion  that  this  amendment  would  cut  off 
those  who  have  renounced  the  rebellion  and 
their  pretended  allegiance  to  the  so-called  Con- 
federacy, and  accepted  our  amnesty. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  The  gentleman  is  mistaken,  and 
I  cannot  better  correct  his  mistake  than  by 
repeating  myself  what  I  said.  I  said  that  our 
amnesty  expired  on  the  17th  day  of  December, 
and  that  there  were  many  men  in  Price's  army 
who  never  heard  of  it. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  Exactly;  I  was  not 
much  mistaken  in  the  point  I  was  endeavoring 
to  make.  The  idea  was  this  :  that  we  had  de- 
clared an  amnesty  to  the  persons  with  whom 
the  gentleman  from  Clinton,  in  his  imprison- 
ment and  confinement,  was  associated  in  the 
rebel  camp.  If  they  had  not  heard  of  our  am- 
nesty, no  doubt  he  proclaimed  it  to  them. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  will  state,  Mr.  President,  I 
only  did  so  as  far  as  I  thought  I  might  without 
violating  any  rule  as  a  prisoner  of  war. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  do  not  suppose  or  in- 
tend to  intimate  that  the  gentleman  violated 
propriety  in  any  respect. 


Mr.  BIRCH.  When  the  subject  was  brought 
up  by  others,  I  spoke  without  restraint. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  have  no  doubt  the 
gentleman  was  most  scrupulous  in  observing 
all  his  duties  as  a  prisoner  of  war ;  but  the 
point  is  urged  that  these  men  to  whom  this  am- 
nesty was  declared,  stated  that,  as  soon  as  they 
had  performed  their  terms  of  service,  under 
Price  and  in  the  rebel  army,  they  intended  to 
come  back  and  claim  protection  of  this  Con- 
vention against  our  violated  laws,  and  the  out- 
raged Government  of  the  United  States.  Now, 
did  ever  the  like  of  that  strike  upon  human 
ear  before  ?  You  promise  an  amnesty  to  a  trai- 
tor in  the  midst  of  his  treason  !  To  which  he 
replies  :  I  am  enlisted  in  this  abominable  busi- 
ness for  six  months  or  a  year ;  but  after  my 
term  of  service  has  expired,  then  I  will  come 
home,  ask  pardon,  and  avail  myself  of  your 
amnesty,  and  seek  the  protection  of  that  Gov- 
ernment whose  citizens  I  shall  continue  to  mur- 
der, and  which  I  must  seek  to  destroy,  until 
the  term  for  which  I  have  enlisted  expires. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  stated  that  it  was  out  of  the 
power  of  these  men  to  accept  our  amnesty. 
They  told  me  that  they  were  enlisted,  and  could 
not  get  away ;  but  as  soon  as  their  terms  of  en- 
listment expired,  they  would  come  back ;  and 
I  said  to  them  they  had  to  do  with  a  Conven- 
tion as  magnanimous  as  it  was  brave. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  would  not  give  one 
pinch  of  snuff,  Mr.  President,  for  the  loyalty 
of  any  man  who  refuses  to  lay  down  the  wea- 
pons of  treason,  and  return  at  once.  [Applause.] 
The  idea  is  monstrous.  That  one  in  arms 
against  the  Government  is  offered  an  amnesty 
for  past  offences — sees  his  error — is  willing  to 
renounce  it,  and  desires  to  claim  the  amnesty — 
and  yet — and  yet,  upon  a  scruple  of  honor,  I 
suppose — must  serve  out  the  full  term  he  has 
pledged  to  treason  before  returning  to  loyalty. 
If  he  was  likely  to  be  subjected  to  danger  by 
abandoning  that  service,  disregarding  his  en. 
listment,  and  returning  home,  it  is  only  one  of 
the  dangers  his  own  guilty  conduct  has  brought 
upon  him.  Will  you  declare  that  a  man  may 
serve  out  his  enlistment,  six  or  twelve  months,, 
after  he  has  heard  of  the  offered  amnesty,  and 
that  he  may  then  be  pardoned  when  he  returns 
and  says,  "  Here  is  my  honorable  discharge 
from  a  most  dishonorable  service,  in  which  I 
continued  long  after  I  heard  of  your  offered 
amnesty,  and  long  after  I  became  convinced  of 
its  character ;  because,  my  honor  did  not  per- 
mit me  sooner  to  abandon  it"  ?  Mr.  President, 
I  will  not  do  it. 


134 


Mr.  BIRCH.  Would  the  gentleman  deal  thus 
with  the  thousands  in  the  old  Southern  States, 
whom  he  and  I  have  argued  are  in  the  move- 
ment against  their  will,  and  who  did  not  lay 
down  their  arms  under  the  President's  procla- 
mation because  they  could  not  do  it  ? 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  have  always  insisted, 
and  still  do  insist,  that  the  great  body  of  the 
people  of  the  seceded  States  are,  at  heart,  this 
day  loyal,  and  have  been  throughout ;  and  I  do 
not  doubt  that  thousands  of  those  who  have 
been  forced  to  enlist  under  their  infamous  con- 
script law,  will  seek  the  first  opportunity  to 
cast  away  the  guns  that  blister  their  patriotic 
hands.  But,  show  me  one  of  them  who  will  not 
improve  the  first  opportunity  to  escape — who 
still  clings  to  his  bondage  upon  the  plea  of  serv- 
ing out  his  term  of  enlistment — and  I  will  show 
you  one  who  is,  before  God  and  man,  a  self-con- 
demned and  convicted  traitor. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  will  ask  but  one  more  indul- 
gence, and  that  is  to  state  that  the  circumstan- 
ces of  these  men  upon  Sac  river  were  such  that 
it  were  death  for  them  to  have  deserted.  I 
travelled  seventy  miles  with  a  safe  escort 
through  that  country,  and  I  never  expect  to 
travel  seventy  miles  under  more  trying  circum- 
stances again.  The  whole  country  was  infest- 
ed with  a  class  of  devilish  persons  who  would 
have  shot  me  out  of  mere  private  revenge. 
But  the  point  I  wish  to  make  is  this  :  that  from 
the  camp  upon  Sac  river  almost  to  the  town  of 
Sedalia,  there  were  nothing  but  secessionists  ; 
and  if  a  man  had  attempted  to  escape  from 
Price's  army  as  a  deserter,  he  would  have  been 
apprehended  before  he  had  gone  two  miles  from 
that  camp. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  May  I  ask  the  gentle- 
man what  proportion  he  supposes,  of  the  per- 
sons whom  he  desires  should  be  permitted  to 
vote,  were  engaged  in  that  occupation — I  mean, 
what  proportion  of  the  "devilish  kind"  that 
he  describes  ? 

Mr.  BIRCH.  Well,  I  will  answer  the  gentle- 
man after  a  moment's  reflection.  Of  the  men 
I  met,  I  do  not  think  there  were  more  than 
three  or  four ;  there  may  have  been  as  many 
hundred.  There  was  one  especially  of  whom 
I  was  myself  so  much  afraid,  that,  although  I 
knew  I  was  going  to  be  discharged  the  next 

day,  I  went  to  a  friend well,  I  will  let  it  all 

come  out — it  was  Coleman,  who  had  authority  to 
raise  a  regiment,  and  he  was  acquainted  with 
another  man,  who  was  a  most  desperate  char- 
acter, and  who  had  threatened  to  take  my  life. 
I  got  Coleman,  after  I  was  discharged,  to  go  to 


this  man  and  induce  him  not  to  waylay  or  shoot 
me  after  I  had  passed  the  lines.  Now,  I  will 
allude  to  another  thing  while  I  am  speaking, 
and  I  wish  to  impress  what  I  say  in  favor  of 
those  men,  that  the  Missouri  Democrat  thinks 
have  come  home  for  the  purpose  of  becoming 
good  and  loyal  citizens, 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  Does  the  gentleman 
propose  to  make  any  distinction  at  all  between 
those  classes  of  secessionists  and  rebels  who  so 
alarmed  and  troubled  him  after  he  got  beyond 
Price's  lines,  and  who  were  not,  of  course,  re- 
strained from  returning  to  their  loyalty  by  any 
fear  of  punishment  for  deserting,  and  the  other 
class  for  whom  he  speaks ;  or  does  he  desire 
them  all  to  vote  ? 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  say  they  were  all  secession- 
ists, and  that  at  any  point  within  seventy  miles 
of  Sac  river  a  deserter  would  have  been  arrest- 
ed ;  but  I  say  again,  bring  forward  an  amend- 
ment to  properly  include  this  class  of  bad  men, 
and  it  shall  have  my  vote. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  thought  the  gentle- 
man's purpose  was  to  exclude  those  who  had 
been  in  the  Confederate  service. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  said  that  in  another  connec- 
tion. I  said,  bring  forward  a  proposition  to  ex- 
clude these  bad  men — these  guerrillas — and  I 
will  vote  for  it;  but  I  am  opposed  to  this,  be- 
cause it  cuts  off  three  thousand  men,  who,  ac- 
cording to  the  Democrat,  are  good  men. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  The  Democrat  is  not 
authority  for  me  ;  it  does  not  reflect 

Mr.  BIRCH.  Oh!  I  am  happy  to  hear  the 
disclaimer  that  the  Democrat  is  not  authority 
for  the  distinguished  delegate  from  St.  Lonis. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  If  the  gentleman  will 
allow  me  to  conclude  the  sentence,  in  the  midst 
of  which  he  interrupted  me,  I  say,  there 
are  many  matters  as  to  which  that  paper 
does  not  reflect  my  views.  As  far  as  that 
paper,  or  any  other,  allows  itself  to  favor 
any  measure,  or  advocate  any  policy,  which 
I  think  destructive  of  the  best  interests  of 
the  community,  it  is  no  authority  for  me; 
but  as  far  as  that  paper  is  conducted  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  the  Uivon,  it  is  authority 
for  me  and  all  Union  men.  But,  as  I  understand 
it,  the  gentleman  reads  a  paragraph,  in  which 
it  is  estimated  that  three  thousand  rebels  have 
returned  to  Howard  county,  or  that  immediate 
region,  which  comes  from  some  unknown  wri- 
ter, not,  perhaps,  entitled  to  any  weight,  and 
which  is  published  in  the  Democrat  as  a  mere 
item  of  news,  and  on  it,  as  he  says,  bases  his 
proposition  to  throw  open  the  polls  to  the  very 


135 


men  we  have  been  obliged  to  take  up  arms  to 
expel  and  destroy. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  It  is  an  editorial  article  headed 
"  Price's  army  returning." 

Mr.  BRECKINKIDGE.  An  editorial  then  based 
on  this  information.  Let  the  gentleman  under- 
stand me ;  I  make  no  unkind  allusion  to  the 
Democrat.  I  know  its  editor  and  proprietors 
well ;  they  are,  I  think  I  may  say,  my  personal 
friends.  But,  sir,  it  often  happens  that  in  the 
columns  of  that  paper  measures  are  advocated 
which  I  consider  very  erroneous,  and  so  far,  it 
is  not  authority  for  me ;  but  in  other  respects, 
as  far  as  the  preservation  of  the  Union  is  con- 
cerned, and  their  efficient  and  earnest  efforts  in 
that  behalf,  that  paper  is  authority  for  me. 
But  suppose  it  to  be  true.  For  the  sake  of 
the  argument  let  it  be  admitted  that  three 
thousand  men  from  Price's  army  have  re- 
turned to  the  locality  named.  How  does  this 
fact  affect  my  position  ?  Will  the  number 
induce  the  gentleman  to  consider  that  proper 
which,  under  other  circumstances,  he  would 
refuse  to  do  ?  Surely  he  does  not  propose  to 
decide  his  course  only  by  the  question  how 
many  voters  he  will  exclude  from  the  polls — 
how  many  can  be  induced  to  vote.  Sir,  I  say 
this,  and  I  beg  the  gentleman  not  to  think  me 
unkind  in  doing  it :  it  may  be  that  in  the  plen- 
titude  of  his  charity  the  gentleman  from  Clin- 
ton, standing  at  bis  own  election  precinct,  and 
seeing  the  same  red-handed  traitor  from  Price's 
army  of  whom  he  has  spoken,  coming  up  to 
the  polls  and  casting  his  vote  according  to  his 
fancies,  could  forgive  him  all  his  evil  deeds  ; 
but  I  do  not  think  I  could  forgive  such  a  man's 
treasonable  acts,  simply  because  he  would 
be  willing  to  cast  his  vote  to  suit  my  own 
fancy.  The  gentleman  talks  about  courts  and 
grand  juries,  and  petty  juries  ;  but  does  he  not 
know  that  these  very  men,  where  they  have 
the  power,  refuse  to  allow  the  courts  to  sit ; 
refuse  to  allow  the  sheriffs  to  summon  a 
grand  jury,  or  threaten  his  life  if  he  puts 
on  a  jury  men  who  will  indict,  or,  if  they  are 
indicted,  will  convict  them  ?  Suppose  a  court 
is  held,  and  a  notorious  traitor  is  sought  for, 
and  indicted  on  account  of  his  many  and  atro- 
cious violations  of  law,  and  is  brought  to  trial  : 
suppose  the  gentleman  from  Clinton  is  sum- 
moned as  a  witness,  and  he  says  under  oath, 
"  This  man  is  a  guilty  traitor  ;  but  he  told  me 
he  was  sorry  for  what  he  had  done,  was  anxious 
for  peace,  and  sick  and  tired  of  the  rebellion  ;" 
and  then  suppose  the  gentleman,  as  his  at- 
torney— for  I  believe  he  practises  law,  and  I 


am  sure  with  great  ability — addresses  the  jury, 
and  seeks  to  convince  them  that  the  offence 
which  this  man  committed  was,  after  all,  a  little 
matter — that  he  was  simply  exercising  his  own 
opinions — that  it  was  right  to  despoil  and  press 
the  property  of  loyal  men,  or  that  he  entertain- 
ed the  belief  that  murder  was  a  proper  thing, 
when  Union  men  were  the  victims,  and  there- 
fore the  jury  must  forgive  his  offence  and  find 
him  innocent :  and  still  further,  suppose  this 
rebel  has  voted  according  to  the  views  of  the 
gentleman,  and,  though  convicted  of  some  dark 
felony,  finds  in  the  gubernatorial  office  some 
friend  who  thinks  offences,  however  grave, 
committed  by  those  in  whose  opinion  they  are 
right,  are  not  proper  subjects  of  punishment, 
and  so  quickly  pardons  him  ; — how  does  this, 
in  principle,  differ  from  the  course  the  gentle- 
man proposes  now  to  take  ?  Let  the  same  prin- 
ciple be  applied  everywhere,  and  the  same 
course  of  action  adopted,  and  I  ask  gentlemen 
how  long  it  will  require  to  debauch  the  loyalty 
of  our  people — how  long  it  will  be  before  the 
line  of  separation  between  loyal  men  and  trai- 
tors will  be  effaced — how  long  before  we  will  be 
hopelessly  given  up  to  treason  ?  No,  sir,  I  will 
not  by  my  vote  consent  to  such  a  thing. 

The  gentleman  says  many  of  these  men  en- 
listed under  the  laws  of  this  State — referring, 
no  doubt,  to  a  law  passed  by  the  last  Legisla- 
ture, the  infamous  Military  Law.  Does  the 
gentleman  forget  that  that  atrocious  law  was 
swept  from  our  statute  books  by  this  Conven- 
tion, at  its  session  in  July  of  last  year  ? 

Mr.  BIRCH.     They  never  heard  of  it. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  Because  the  ears  of 
men  are  closed,  are  we  never  to  execute  our 
laws  ?  Are  repeated  amnesties  to  cover  all  out- 
rages, because  those  who  commit  them  will  not, 
or  do  not  heed  the  conditions  we  a'tach  to  our 
offers  of  pardon  ?  If  the  deaf  man  commits 
murder,  are  we  never  to  execute  the  law  which 
denounces  it  because  he  has  not  heard  of  it  ? 
Sir,  I  think  it  would  be  bad  policy  to  pardon 
him  on  such  a  flimsy  plea,  and  the  gentleman 
will  find  it  necessary  to  reverse  our  whole  sys- 
em  of  justice  if  such  methods  are  to  prevail. 
Through  the  hard  experience  of  last  summer, 
beginning  at  Boonville,  and  continuing  through 
Carthage,  and  Wilson's  Creek,  and  Lexington — 
through  all  this  experience,  these  men  have 
gone,  and  the  gentleman  thinks  that  during  all 
that  time  they  carried  the  seeds  of  repentance 
in  their  hearts  ;  and  now,  after  we  have  fixed 
a  day,  upon  which,  if  they  had  returned,  par- 
don was  promised,  and  given  them  permission 


136 


to  return  within  a  specified  period  and  receive 
the  protection  of  the  Government,  and  find  our 
offers  despised,  the  gentleman  still  says — Let 
them  all  come  back,  however  heinous  their  of- 
fences ;  let  them  all  come  back  and  exercise 
their  rights  :  after  exercising  their  rights  in 
endeavoring  by  violence  to  force  us  out  of  the 
Union,  let  them  exercise  their  rights  in  striving 
to  vote  us  out!  We  swept  from  the  statute 
books  the  law  under  which  they  enlisted  ;  we 
declared  every  act  of  violence,  on  their  part,  if 
it  amounted  to  the  killing  of  a  fellow-man,  mur- 
der; but  now  the  gentleman  supposes  they  may 
not  have  heard  of  that — may  not  have  been 
told  that  we  had  annulled  the  law  under  which 
they  enlisted,  or  properly  classified  their  wick- 
ed acts. 

The  gentleman  makes  a  distinction  which  I 
was  sorry  to  hear  him  make.  We  have  had 
too  many  fine  drawn  distinctions.  Too  many 
of  the  men  of  whom  he  speaks,  who  have  been 
led  into  treason,  have  been  led  into  it  originally 
by  these  cobwebs  of  abstract  opinion  upon  State 
rights.  Too  many  fine  intellects  have  been 
led  into  disloyalty  to  the  State  and  the  United 
States  by  these  fallacies.  I  have  no  room  in 
my  mind  for  such  distinctions.  Point  me  to  a 
man  who  is  disloyal  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  and  I  will  point  you  to  a  man 
who  is  disloyal  and  a  traitor  to  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri. Show  me  one  truly  loyal  to  the  State, 
and  I  will  show  you  one  truly  loyal  to  the 
United  States. 

A  VOICE.  That  is  true,  sir. 
Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  The  gentleman  will 
pardon  me  for  saying  it  is  a  part  of  the  same 
old  poison  of  misunderstood  State  rights,  so 
perniciously  used,  and  to  such  fatal  purpose, 
in  the  hands  of  wicked  and  designing  men. 
The  gentleman  here  proclaims,  if  I  do  not  mis- 
understand him,  his  purpose  always  to  be  loyal 
to  the  State  and  to  its  institutions  ;  but  he  seems 
not  to  care  much  about  making  avowals  of  his 
purpose  to  be  loyal  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  Let  me  ask  the  gentleman,  for 
he  alluded  in  unmistakable  terms — and  I  have 
no  complaint  to  make — to  a  proposition  which 
I  had  the  honor  to  introduce  and  advocate  the 
other  day  concerning  the  emancipation  of  slaves ; 
he  referred  to  the  views  therein  expressed,  and 
to  the  institution  therein  alluded  to.  Let  me 
ask  the  gentleman  :  suppose  the  choice  comes — 
I  trust  it  may  never  come,  perhaps  it  will 
not — but  suppose  it  does,  the  choice  between 
slavery  and  his  loyalty  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  where  will  his  choice  place  him 


Mr.  BIRCH.  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  an- 
swer the  question,  and  I  will  premise  by  re- 
marking that  it  has  become  quite  fashionable 
of  late  for  gentlemen  to  write  and  speak  sub- 
stantially these  words — "  If  I  have  to  choose 
between  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  I  am  for  my 
Government."  I  did  not  like  these  words  when 
I  first  saw  them  in  print,  and  as  I  read  them  in 
the  reports  of  speeches,  I  thought  they  had 
an  Abolition  twang.  I  thought  they  meant 
that,  bye  and  bye,  Lincoln,  as  President,  would 
assume  that  he  had  authority  to  judge  whether 
slavery  could  longer  be  continued  in  the  South- 
ern States  compatible  with  the  operations  of 
his  army,  and  that  he  would  decide  it  could  not, 
and  that  he  would  wipe  it  out ;  and  therefore, 
Lincoln  having  decided,  and  they  deeming  him 
competent  to  decide  the  question,  the  question 
would  then  come  up  between  loyalty  and  sla- 
very, and  they  would  stand  for  the  United 
States.  I  say  inasmuch  as  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  expressly  ordains  that  no 
person  shall  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  prop- 
erty, except  by  due  process  of  law,  every  law- 
yer understands  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  has  not  in  war  more  than  in 
peace,  any  more  authority  to  issue  such  a  pro- 
clamation as  that,  than  the  delegate  who  stands 
here  to  address  you ;  and  the  position  upon 
which  some  gentlemen  place  themselves  in  ref- 
erence to  this  matter,  as  regards  the  existence 
of  the  present  war,  against  the  emphatic  decla- 
ration of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
signed  by  Washington ;  and  if  Lincoln  shall 
ever  come  forward,  as  it  is  rather  dimly  fore- 
shadowed in  his  proclamation  revoking  the 
Hunter  proclamation,  and  proclaims  freedom, 
the  torch  and  the  dagger  to  the  slaves  of  the 
Southern  States,  and  I  am  in  any  public  posi- 
tion to  have  a  voice  upon  the  matter,  he  shall 
never  have  with  my  vote,  or  my  voice,  a  man 
or  a  single  dollar,  from  the  State  of  Missou- 
ri— never ;  and  that  is  my  answer. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  And  still,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, the  mists  of  State  rights  have  so  becloud- 
ed the  gentleman's  reason  that  I  get  no  answer 
to  my  question. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  supposed  that  I  had  given  a 
full  answer  to  the  gentleman. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  To  make  my  proposi- 
tion plain  to  the  gentleman's  understanding  : 
suppose  that  slavery,  by  the  march  of  armies 
through  the  regions  where  it  exists,  finds  its 
existence  in  peril,  and  almost  destroyed  ;  I 
wish  to  know,  if,  by  the  march  of  armies  through 


137 


those  regions,  the  slave  is  released  from  his 
bonds,  who  would  be  responsible  ? 

Mr.  ORR.  I  hope  we  are"  not  going  to  have 
this  question  sprung  upon  us  again.  I  see  no 
connection  between 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  I  will  state  that  the 
whole  speech  of  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis 
is  out  of  order ;  he  has  already  spoken  once  on 
his  amendment. 

Mr.  OKK.  Well,  I  thought  the  Convention 
had  put  a  stop  to  the  nigger  question  the  other 
day. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  The  debate  has  taken 
a  wide  range,  Mr.  President,  and  I  have  done 
no  more  than  very  hurriedly  to  try  to  answer 
some  of  the  arguments  made  by  others,  who 
were  not  considered  out  of  order. 

Mr.  HUDGENS.  If  the  gentleman  will  give 
way,  J  will  move  to  adjourn. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  thank  the  gentleman 
from  Andrew,  but  I  shall  speak  but  a  few  mo- 
ments longer.  I  will  only  say  that,  for  me,  using 
the  phraseology  the  gentleman  from  Clinton  de- 
plores so  much,  if  the  choice  ever  comes 
as  between  any  institution  existing  under  the 
Constitution  of  this  State  or  the  United  States, 
and  the  Union  of  these  States,  I  am  for  the 
Union  always,  forever,  and  by  every  pledge. 
[Applause.] 

The  gentleman  made  some  allusion  to  the 
fact  alleged  by  him  that  these  rebels  acting  with 
Price  had  not  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  ser- 
vice, and  were  not  bound  to  it,  but  had  been 
doing  what  they  supposed  to  be  their  duty  un- 
der the  law  of  this  State.  I  find,  sir,  in  the 
speech  delivered  by  the  gentleman  on  the  12th 
of  October  last,  in  this  body,  then  in  session 
in  St.  Louis,  and  when  he  was  endeavoring  to 
answer  certain  remarks  of  my  late  colleague 
(Mr.  Wright),  and  to  convince  him  that  the  oath 
then  proposed,  and  by  our  ordinance  soon  after 
required  to  be  taken  by  all  civil  officers  in  this 
State  was  most  proper,  the  following  : 

"  In  default  of  this  (the  oath  of  loyalty  to  Ike 
Confederate  Government)  the  following  copy  of  the 
oath  administered  to  such  of  the  captive  officers  at 
Lexington  as  would  consent  to  take  it  may  throw  a 
little  lifjhton  the  subject;  and  will  be  particularly 
refreshing  to  those  who  yet  innocently  believe  that  our 
late  President  (Sterling  Price)  and  his  command 
are  still  loyal  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  : 

"  '  The  undersigned,  1st  Lieutenant, a  pris- 
oner of  icar,  at  ,  pledges  his  sacred  word  of 

honor  that  he   will   not   again,  during  the  present 
war,  take  up  arms  against  either  the  State  of  Mis- 


souri or  the  Confederate  States  of  America;  and 
that  he  will  not  give  aid  or  comfort,  in  any  way 
whatever,  to  the  Government  of  the  United  State 
or  any  of  its  armies,  until  he  shall  have  been  released. 
This  parole  is  given  upon  the  condition  that  the  same 
may  be  surrendered  at  any  time  to  the  commanding 
officer  of  any  military  post  of  the  Missouri  State 
Guard. 

"  '  Given  at  Lexington,  Missouri,  September  25th, 
1861.'" 

He  was  arguing  then,  Mr.  President,  from  a 
different  stand  point  from  the  present,  lie  was 
seeking  to  persuade  my  late  colleague  that  an 
oath  was  a  very  proper  thing,  and  would  be 
particularly  refreshing  to  those  who  might  take 
it,  and  would  apply  a  most  admirable  test  to  all 
officers,  who,  if  not  loyal,  should  be  hurled 
from  office.  Have  not  the  gentleman's  views 
apparently  undergone  a  change  with  regard  to 
the  efficacy  of  oaths  and  the  propriety  of  ad- 
ministering them  1  The  particular  matter, 
however,  I  wish  here  to  notice,  is  the  character 
of  this  parole  I  have  just  quoted.  Is  it  not 
manifest  that  those  who  administered  it  were 
in  the  service  of  the  so-called  Confederacy,  to 
abstain  from  bearing  arms  against  which,  and 
from  aiding  the  enemies  of  which,  is  the  condi- 
tion on  which  they  release  prisoners  ?  Can  the 
gentleman  seriously  insist  that  they  were  not 
really  pledged  to  that  bad  cause  ? 

Mr.  BIRCH.  My  recollection  is  that  at  the 
battle  of  Wilson's  Creek,  Gen.  Price  came  un- 
der McCulloch,  who  was  a  Confederate  Gene- 
ral. Price,  therefore,  I  suppose,  was  subordinate 
to  McCulloch,  and  the  men  were  subsequently 
informed  that  they  were  Confederate  soldiers. 
They  were  enlisted  under  Price,  but  he  had 
transferred  them  to  McCulloch. 

Mr.  BHECKINRIDGE.  And  yet  the  gentleman 
says  they  were  not  in  the  Confederate  service  ! 
I  do  not  think  the  answer  of  the  gentleman 
amounts  to  much ;  and  it  seems  to  me  my  point 
is  preserved. 

I  desire,  before  I  close,  to  warn  the  gentle- 
man, for  whom  I  have  the  kindliest  feelings, 
that  the  abandonment  of  well-established  prin- 
ciples is  dangerous ;  that  he,  however  able, 
who  allows  himself  to  become  involved  in  nice 
distinciions  concerning  the  duty  of  loyalty  and 
its  degrees,  and  can  find  at  such  a  time  a  loy- 
alty to  the  State  which  he  accepts,  and  a  loyal- 
ty to  the  United  States  which  he  rejects,  is  lia- 
ble soon  to  fall  into  that  hopeless,  fathomless 
gulf  into  which  so  many  have  fallen ;  that 
especially  he  is  treading  a  dangerous  and  a 
downward  path,  when  he  seeks  to  find  the  point 


138 


at  which  he  may  cease  to  sustain  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  and  still  be  loyal  to 
the  State.  I  beg  the  gentleman  to  consider 
this  warning,  although  coining  from  one  much 
younger,  with  far  less  experience  and  less  wis- 
dom, perhaps,  than  himself,  as  worthy  of  earn- 
est thought. 

Mr.  President,  I  remember,  when  a  boy,  see- 
ing sometimes  curiously  painted  signs  that 
some  cunning  painter  had  designed,  so  that 
when  approached  from  one  side  or  the  other, 
or  in  front,  you  would  read  announcements  al- 
together different.  The  language  they  spoke 
depended  entirely  on  the  point  of  view  of  those 
who  looked  at  them  ;  and  so,  it  seems  to  me, 
these  signs  may  be  used  to  show  the  positions 
into  which  some  gentlemen  are  apt  to  fall,  and 
the  varying  and  inconsistent  opinions  they  ex- 
press, as  they  change  their  stand  point.  Ap- 
ply it  to  the  case  of  the  gentleman  from  Clin- 
ton. Standing  in  his  place  in  this  body  in  the 
spring  of  1861,  fresh  from  the  loyal  con- 
stituency who  sent  him  here,  and  denouncing 
with  earnest  and  eloquent  words  the  purpose 
he  then  exposed,  of  attempting  to  overawe  and 
control  this  body  in  the  interest  of  treason,  he 
reads  the  words  "  Base  conspiracy."  Some 
months  later,  and  when,  because  of  words  spo- 
ken in  seeking  to  secure  aid  from  the  enemy  in  a 
canvass  for  a  high  office,  he  was  arrested  by  a 
Federal  officer,  whose  honest  mind  did  not  ap- 
prefiate  the  gentleman's  nice  distinctions  and 
refinements,  and  who  suspected  him  of  giving 
as  well  as  seeking  aid,  and  standing  now  a  pris- 
oner in  a  Federal  camp,  he  reads  the  words 
"  Federal  oppression ;  loyal  to  Missouri."  And 
now,  again,  standing  at  some  election  precinct, 
surrounded  by  a  throng  of  admiring  and  re- 
pentant rebels,  who  by  their  ballots  prove  their 
gratitude  for  his  efforts  this  day  in  their  behalf, 
he  reads  the*  words — "LOYAL,  HONEST,  TRAI- 

TOll  VOTERS." 

Mr.  President,  let  the  gentleman  be  warned. 
The  course  he  is  pursuing  is  not  safe.  It  sad- 
dens me  to  think  where  much  further  progress 
in  it  will  lead  him. 

I  think  it  my  duty  to  be  as  charitable  as  I 
can  to  the  deluded,  ignorant  and  foolish  men 
who  have  engaged  in  this  wicked  rebellion  ;  but 
never,  never,  in  the  name  of  justice  and  truth,  of 
violated  oaths,  of  ruined  homesteads,  and  anal- 
most  ruined  people — never  let  us  propose  to 
deal  out  this  kind  of  charity  in  behalf  of  the 
wicked  leaders  and  rulers  of  this  movement, 
who,  by  the  course  the  gentlemen  propose, 
will  find  power  again  to  convulse  and  desolate 


the  State.  Let  us  never  forget  how  much  our 
wives,  our  children,  and  our  fellow-men  have 
at  stake  in  the  present  controversy,  and  let  us 
not  sweep  all  their  hopes  away  for  the  votes  of 
a  few  loyal  traitors. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.     I  move  an  adjournment. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  until  2  P.  M. 


AFTERNOON    SESSION. 

Met  at  2  P.  M. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan  introduced  the  me- 
morial of  Mr.  Morrison,  late  State  Treasurer. 
Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  Mr.  Presided,  I  desire,  in 
a  very  brief  way,  to  give  my  views  with  refer- 
ence to  the  proposition  now  before  the  Con- 
vention. I  have  regretted  the  course  that  the 
debate  has  taken  to-day.  I  regret  that  there 
has  been  so  much  of  what  may  be  called  "stump 
politics"  in  the  Convention.  It  matters  but 
little  to  the  people  of  the  State  what  record  a 
politician  may  make  here.  We  are  not  here  to 
make  records  for  ourselves  in  a  future  political 
canvass,  but,  on  the  contrary,  sir,  we  are  here 
to  discharge  duties  of  the  greatest  and  most 
responsible  character.  Party  politics,  canvass 
politics,  and  records  of  politicians,  are  of  small 
consequence  when  brought  to  bear  against  the 
great  questions  that  rest  upon  the  members  of 
this  Convention  for  their  determination.  The 
question  before  the  Convention  is  the  safety  of 
the  State.  That,  sir,  is  the  question  that  de- 
mands the  consideration  of  the  people's  repre- 
sentatives, and  that  is  the  question  that  demands 
the  consideration  of  statesmen  unprejudiced 
and  unbiased  in  their  deliberations;  and  it 
ought  not,  sir,  to  be  interlarded  with  partisan 
politics,  canvass  politics,  or  political  records. 
Then,  sir,  what  does  the  safety  of  the  State 
require  in  relation  to  the  elective  franchise? 
That  is  the  question.  The  man  that  labors 
here,  and  gives  his  views  and  his  determinations 
under  prejudice  or  passion,  will  have  not  only 
done  himself  an  injury,  but  will  have  injured 
his  State  and  the  great  cause  of  human  liberty. 
I  hope,  sir,  that  I  have  no  prejudice  in  this 
matter  that  I  cannot  govern  or  control.  I  know, 
sir,  the  evils  that  our  State  has  been  involved 
in,  and  the  machinations  of  designing  men  that 
have  desolated  our  great  and  beloved  State,  and 
the  untold  wrongs  that  we  have  suffered,  and 
the  wrongs  that  our  friends  and  families  have 
suffered;  and  when  we  think  of  the  great  evils 
inflicted  on  the  State  by  demagogues  and  de- 
signing men,  it  takes,  I  confess,  some  philoso- 


139 


phy  to  rid  the  mind  of  prejudice  and  passion. 
Retaliation  is  a  law  that  is  sweet  to  the  human 
heart  and  mind,  and  unless  we  guard  ourselves 
we  will  retaliate  frequently  when  we  least 
expect  it. 

I  rtgret,  sir,  another  thing  that  has  transpired 
during  the  deliberations  of  this  Convention. 
I  i  egret,  sir,  the  menacing  or  implied  threaten- 
ir.gs  that  have  been  used  in  the  course  of  debate 
in  order  to  influence  the  minds  of  members. 
It  is  said,  sir,  that  if  we  do  what  in  our  calm 
judgment  we  believe  to  be  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  preservation  of  the  State,  it  will  fill  our 
woods  with  guerrillas,  and  that  the  people  will 
be  shot  by  the  way-side  ;  on  the  other  hand,  we 
hear  distant  mutterings  of  a  Military  Govern- 
ment and  a  Provost  Marshal.  Let  me  say  to 
you,  Mr.  President,  that  he  who  suffers  himself 
to  be  governed  by  fear  will  not  discharge  his 
duty  well.  For  my  part,  whenever  the  safety 
of  the  State  requires  me  to  perform  any  act  of 
legislation,  I  will  not  shrink  from  it  if  every 
grove  in  the  State  is  filled  with  guerrillas. 

But  I  do  not  believe  our  Federal  Government 
will  in  any  way  interfere  with  the  deliberations 
of  this  body.  The  great  and  good  man  who 
now  holds  the  helm  of  state  at  Washington 
has  never  manifested  any  such  disposition. 
True,  the  Federal  Government  will  protect 
itself,  and  it  is  right  in  doing  so ;  but  it  is  not 
necessary,  and  it  would  not  be  protecting  itself, 
if  it  were  to  interfere  with  the  proper  deliber- 
ations of  this  body,  or  any  other  properly  con- 
stituted legislative  body  in  this  country. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  come  to  look  at  the 
amendment  and  the  amendment  to  the  amend- 
ment. I  would  prefer,  sir,  the  ordinance  intro- 
duced some  days  ago  by  the  committee,  to  the 
amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis.  There  is  more  justice  in  the  ordinance 
then  presented  than  there  would  be  in  this 
ordinance  if  this  amendment  were  passed. 

There  is  no  reason,  Mr.  President,  if  the 
oath  or  test  is  to  be  made  retrospective,  why  it 
shall  stop  on  the  17th  day  of  December.  The 
original  ordinance  reported  by  the  Committee 
on  Elections  and  Elective  Franchise,  made  no 
limit  to  the  retrospective  action  as  to  voters; 
but  the  ninth  section  of  that  ordinance  declared 
that  any  person  who  had  been  induced  to  take 
up  arms  or  levy  war  against  the  United  States, 
through  fraudulent  representations,  supposed 
obligations  of  duty,  or  duress,  that,  upon  taking 
the  oath  which  was  therein  provided,  he  should 
be  permitted  to  exercise  the  elective  franchise. 
That  ordinance,  sir,  has  far  more  justice  in  it 


than  this  ordinance  would  have  with  the  restric- 
tion which  the  amendment  provides  for.  Why 
will  they  limit  it  to  the  37th  day  of  December? 
No  doubt  the  reason  for  it  is  the  action  of  this 
Convention  at  its  previous  session.  I  say,  Mr. 
President,  there  is  nothing  in  the  action  of  the 
previous  sessions  of  this  Convention  that 
reaches  this  right  to  vote  ;  at  least,  there  is  no 
more  in  the  previous  action  of  this  Convention, 
nor  yet  half  so  much,  as  there  is  in  General 
Halleck's  circular  of  the  14ih  of  February  last, 
and  the  different  safeguards,  that  have  been 
given  by  the  different  military  authorities  of  the 
State  for  the  last  six  months.  Why,  sir,  safe- 
guards are  given  by  the  Federal  military  author- 
ities of  the  State,  granting  to  the  holder  of 
them  that  he  shall  be  safe  in  his  person  and  his 
property  if  he  will  comply  with  General  Hal- 
leek's  circular  of  the  J4th  of  February  last. 
We  guaranteed  no  more  by  the  action  of  our 
Convention  than  do  the  safeguards  under  Gen- 
eral Halleck's  circular.  He  promises  them 
protection  in  their  persons  and  property,  and 
the  Convention  promises  them  no  more. 

I,  sir,  was,  of  course,  assisted  in  reporting  the 
ordinance  introduced  on  elective  franchise,  arid 
1  thought,  at  the  time  of  introducing  it,  that  it 
was  just  and  proper.  Subsequent  debate,  how- 
ever, on  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gentle- 
man from  Greene,  induced  me  to  believe  that 
it  was  more  practicable  to  adopt  that  amend- 
ment, and  refuse  to  make  it  retrospective  at  all, 
than  to  attempt  to  carry  out  the  bill  which  the 
committee  had  reported.  Hence,  sir,  I  sup- 
ported the  amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman 
from  Greene,  and  I  did  it  from  various  consid- 
erations, which  to  my  mind  were  proper  and 
right,  and  which,  under  my  convictions,  made 
it  my  duty  to  do  so. 

There  is  a  principle  or  axiom  in  the  common 
law  that  we  would  do  well  to  remember.  The 
substance  of  that  axiom  is,  "the  extreme  of 
right  is  wrong,  and  the  extreme  of  justice  is 
injustice."  This  axiom  comes  to  us  sanction- 
ed, from  time  immemorial,  by  our  English 
ancestors.  It  comes  to  us  matured  by  time, 
and  the  present  circumstances  that  surround 
this  country  but  prove,  but  too  sadly,  its  truth. 
But  if  gentlemen  can  show  why  this  di-sfran- 
chisement  should  begin  on  the  17th  of  Decem- 
ber, then,  I  confess,  they  will  have  removed 
one  difficulty  from  my  mind. 

I  was  glad  to  hear  the  distinguished  gentleman 
from  6t  Louis  take  the  position  he  did.  He 
stated  the  fact  distinctly,  and  I  fully  concur  in 
its  truth,  that  a  majority  of  the  people  of  even 


140 


the  seceded  States  (if  I  understood  him)  were 
loyal  to  the  Federal  Government.  I  fully 
concur,  Mr.  President,  in  that  remark.  That 
being  true  (and  I  do  not  think  any  fair-minded 
man  can  come  to  any  other  conclusion)  so  far 
as  the  Confederate  States  are  concerned,  it  is 
certainly  true  as  to  Missouri,  and  always  has 
been.  I  presume  my  distinguished  friend  will 
not  deny  that.  When  this  Convention  was 
elected,  its  members  were  sent  here  by  80,000 
majority  of  loyal  men  ;  and  what  has  become 
of  them?  Hera  is  an  argument,  Mr.  President, 
that  I  base  on  that.  Mark  you,  our  polar  star 
is  the  safety  of  the  State.  If  there  is  a  majority 
of  loyal  men  and  loyal  voters  in  this  State,  (and 
I  doubt  it  not,)  then  the  safety  of  the  State 
does  not  require  this  retrospective  action  of  the 
Convention,  nor  the  disfranchising  of  any  citi- 
zens or  voters  of  the  State.  Therefore,  sir,  I 
think  that  the  proposed  amendment  is  unneces- 
sary for  the  safety  of  the  commonwealth. 

Again,  sir,  my  objection  to  this  amendment 
does  not  stop  here.  Since  the  17th  of  Decem- 
ber last,  one-fourth,  perhaps,  of  this  State  has 
been  under  a  hostile  and  de  facto  government 
to  which  every  man  within  its  military  power 
was  bound  to  bow  in  obedience  and  in  silence, 
and  to  hush  his  complaints,  and  to  do  many 
acts  that  seemed  to  be  inconsistent  with  loyalty, 
and  which  were  inconsistent  with  loyalty, 
while,  sir,  these  men  were  as  loyal,  perhaps,  as 
any  others.  I  tell  you,  gentlemen  of  the  Con- 
vention, remember  the  history  of  your  own 
State;  remember  the  Southwest  of  your  State, 
and  the  loyal  men  of  that  section  who  have 
lost  their  all.  Remember  the  brave,  gallant 
and  generous  Lyon,  when  he  marched  his 
troops  to  Springfield  and  protected  the  loyal 
men  of  that  section  until  the  battle  of  Wilson's 
Creek,  when  he  was  forced  to  leave  the  loyal 
citizens  under  a  hostile  government,  and  to 
whose  rule  they  were  compelled  to  submit  un- 
til the  return  of  the  Federal  power  in  Septem- 
ber under  Fremont.  These  loyal  citizens  re- 
joiced when  the  ensign  of  American  freedom 
appeared  in  the  precincts  of  Springfield.  But, 
in  a  few  short  weeks,  they  were  again  doomed 
to  the  tread  of  the  invader,  and  were  compelled 
to  submit  to  be  conquered  a  second  time.  Some 
gentlemen  may  say  they  ought  to  have  left 
home.  But,  let  me  say,  it  was  not  practical  for 
every  man  to  leave  his  home.  Many  did 
leave — as  many  as  could  do  so — but,  doubtless, 
there  were  thousands  who  could  not  leave ; 
and  now,  sir,  will  this  Convention  disfranchise 
those  men  who  remained,  and  who  could  not 


get  away  ?     You  recollect  that  Fremont's  army 
remained  there  but  for  a  short  period.     Upon 
lis  diappearance,  the  Confederate  army  again 
took  possession  of  Springfield  and  the   South- 
west, and  they  ruled  it  with  an  iron  heel  that 
would  hear  of  no  remonstrance.    Now,  sir.  1 
ask  the  gentlemen  of  the  Convention  to  remem- 
ber the  condition  of  the  State  on  the  17th  of 
December  last,  when  Price  and  his  army  were 
at   Springfield  menacing  the  whole   western 
boundary  of  the  State.     There  was  an  appre- 
liension  that  he  would  march  across  the  Mis- 
souri river,  and  advance  into  the  northern  sec- 
tion of  the  State.    I  know  the  people  who 
lived  in  that  section  at  that  time  felt  uneasy  in 
relation  to  that  matter.     On  the  20th  of  Decem- 
ber the  Confederate  bridge  burners  tore  up  the 
North  Missouri  railroad  almost  its  entire  length  ; 
and  gentlemen  may  say,  should  this  recommend 
these  gentlemen  to  vote  because  they  tore  up  a 
railroad?    Not  at  all.    But  I  make  these  re- 
marks to  show  you  that  if  you  propose  to  pass 
this  disfranchising  and  retrospective  measure, 
then  there  is  as  much  reason  for  extending  it 
back  of  the  17th  of  December  as  for  making  it 
applicable  to  those  who  have  been  engaged  in 
rebellion  since  that  time.     But,  Mr.  President, 
is  there  any  gentleman  here  that  believes  that, 
under  the  proposition  of  the  committee  as  it 
stands,  Missouri  would  not  be  safe  ?     Would 
she  not  be  safe  ?     The  majority  of  the  people 
are  where  they  always  have  been — loyal ;  and 
they  will  seize  the  opportunity  offered  them  to 
return,  and  with  that  majority  the  State  can 
suffer  no  detriment.     Ours    is  a  Government, 
sir,  of  majorities,  and  if  we  have  got  a  majori- 
ty of  loyal  people  to  begin  with,  with  those  that 
will  return  to  their  allegiance,  and  with  those 
anxious  to  get  rid  of  the  war  and  to  reestab- 
lish themselves  as  friends  of  law  and  order — 
with  these,  and  a  majority  to  begin  with,  will 
any  man  say  that  the  State  is  not  safe  ?  I  think 
not,  Mr.  President. 

But  I  desire  to  make  another  statement  here, 
because  it  not  unfrequently  happens  that  a  good 
many  things  are  brought  up  in  the  course  of  a 
discussion  that  do  not  properly  belong  to  the 
discussion  ;  and  I  hope  I  will  be  pardoned,  by 
making  a  reference  here  to  another  matter, 
which  has,  to  some  extent,  a  bearing  on  this 
question.  It  was  attempted  here,  on  Saturday, 
to  introduce  the  question  of  emancipation  in 
this  State.  I  dp  not  propose  to  argue  the  ques- 
tion at  this  time.  The  Convention  laid  the 
proposition  on  the  table,  and  why  did  they  do  it  ? 
I  suppose,  sir,  the  great  majority  of  those  who 


141 


voted  to  lay  the  matter  on  the  table  simply  de- 
sired to  leave  the  subject  in  the  hands  of  the 
people  of  the  State.  We  were  not  elected  with 
reference  to  it.  We  have  outlived  our  time,  as 
it  were ;  and  we  are  only  here  now  to  discharge 
such  duties  as  the  imperative  necessity  of  the 
tiiiu's  and  the  condition  of  the  State  absolute- 
ly require.  I  desire  to  say,  so  far  as  I  am 
concerned,  that  such  was  my  motive  in  refus- 
ing to  entertain  this  question.  While  this  is 
so,  I  wish  it  distinctly  understood  that  I  am  in 
favor  of  the  election  of  a  Legislature  at  the 
coming  election;  and  I  do  not  think  I  can 
swerve  from  that  purpose,  because  I  have  con- 
sidered it  well ;  and  if  the  people  of  the  great 
Suite  of  Missouri  choose  to  entertain  the  eman- 
cipation question — if  they  choose  to  elect  mem- 
bers with  reference  to  it — does  not  the  institu- 
tion as  well  as  the  State  belong  to  them,  and 
who  can  gainsay  their  right  ?  Why,  sir,  I  am 
willing  to  bow  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  the 
people ;  but  I  am  not  willing  to  throw  before 
that  people  an  exciting  issue  which  was  not 
canvassed  at  the  time  of  my  election.  Sir,  I 
hope  this  body  will  not,  for  one  moment,  enter- 
tain the  idea  of  postponing  the  election  of 
members  of  Congress  and  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  State  at  the  coming  election.  There 
are  many  reasons  for  that,  which  I  will  argue 
at  the  proper  time.  I  merely  refer  to  them 
now  in  order  to  prevent  misapprehension.  I 
do  not  deprive  any  individual  of  a  single  right, 
not  even  those  who  have  brought  our  present 
troubles  upon  us — who  have  desolated  our  fair 
fields,  and  made  widows  and  orphans  out  of  a 
large  portion  of  our  population.  But,  if  we 
are  to  act  upon  retribution  and  retaliation — if 
the  arguments  that  have  been  used  here  are  to 
obtain — then  no  secessionist  will  be  permitted 
to  vote  at  the  same  polls  with  me.  It  was  re- 
marked to-day  that  the  soldier  who  had  taken 
up  arms  and  gone  forth  to  battle,  would  feel 
degraded  by  having  his  adversary  return  and 
cast  his  vote  at  the  same  ballot-box  with  him. 
Now,  perhaps,  some  gentlemen  might  be  so  ex- 
tremely vindictive  as  to  refuse  to  let  a  rebel 
breathe  the  air  of  heaven,  or  even  bask  in  its 
sunlight.  The  argument  is  not  a  good  one, 
and  I  refer  to  it  to  show  that  if  carried  to  its 
full  extent,  a  rebel  could  not  breath  the  pure 
air  of  heaven,  or  bask  in  its  sunlight. 

Mr.  President,  I  do  not  stand  here  to  advo- 
cate any  other  than  the  true  interest  of  the 
Government.  As  far  as  the  safety  of  the  Gov- 
ernment requires  me  to  go  I  will  go,  because 
the  preservation  of  the  Government  and  the 


restoration  of  peace,  law,  and  order,  is  para- 
mount to  everything  else.  These  are  trying 
times,  and  times  when  statesmen  should  act. 
These  are  no  times  for  party  politicians. 
These  are  no  questions  to  be  trifled  with,  but 
great  questions  that  demand  wise  and  consid- 
erate action.  A  great  and  magnanimous  Gov- 
ernment can  afford  to  be  liberal  to  her  erring  citi- 
zens. The  axiom  of  civil  law  is,  that  it  is  better 
that  ninety  and  nine  guilty  should  suffer,  than 
that  one  innocent  man  should ;  and,  sir,  the  Gov- 
ernment, whose  flag  all  nations  have  respected, 
can  afford  to  be  liberal  to  her  erring,  criminal 
citizens,  if  you  please.  I  have  no  apology  to 
offer,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as 
offering  an  apology  for  those  men  who  have 
deliberately  engaged  in  this  conspiracy  to 
overthrow  the  Government;  and  while  that  is 
so,  I  would  not  have  my  country  do  wrong  to 
any  one.  The  great  Clay  said,  "  I  had  rather 
be  right  than  be  President."  Mr.  President,  I 
will  not  discuss  this  question  further.  All  I 
ask  the  Convention  is,  to  give  this  matter  a 
fair,  candid,  and  dispassionate  consideration.  I 
think  myself  that  the  principle  was  determined 
the  other  day  upon  the  amendment  of  the  gen- 
tleman from  Greene.  I  thought  then  it  was 
distinctly  decided  by  this  body  that  there 
should  be  no  retrospective  tests  as  to  voters, 
but  it  seems  this  amendment  has  to  be  decided 
upon  by  this  body,  and  I  presume  its  decision 
will  be  final  and  conclusive  in  the  matter.  I 
shall  have  no  complaint  to  make  either  way, 
having  discharged  my  own  duty,  as  I  conceive, 
to  my  constituents,  to  my  State,  and  to  the 
Federal  Government. 

Mr.  PIPKIN.  I  do  not  rise,  sir,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  giving  my  views  upon  this  question  to 
this  Convention,  but  for  the  purpose  of  simply 
handing  down  to  those  who  shall  live  after  us 
my  views  upon  a  matter  of  so  much  importance. 
When  we  take  into  consideration,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, the  situation  of  those  for  whom  we  are 
legislating,  this  matter  presents  many  great 
difficulties.  We  are  now  legislating  in  a  man- 
ner to  affect  the  people  who  are  now  residents 
of  the  State  of  Missouri,  or  were  residents  of 
the  State  of  Missouri  at  the  time  of  the  com- 
mencement of  this  difficulty.  One  year  ago, 
the  persons  who  are  expected  to  be  affected  by 
the  proposition  now  before  the  Convention, 
were  citizens  of  the  State  of  Missouri.  They 
are  now  recognized,  I  believe,  by  every  mem- 
ber of  this  body  as  citizens  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  and  of  the  United  States.  We  are, 
then,  legislating  for  those  who  are  part  and 


142 


parcel  of  us.  They  are  to  be  affected  by  our 
legislation,  and  they  are  to  be  interested  in  the 
laws  that  are  to  be  enacted  by  those  who  are 
to  be  placed  in  office  after  this.  Mr.  President, 
it  behooves  us  to  legislate  wisely,  as  a  very 
large  number  of  the  people  of  Missouri  are  to 
be  affected  by  our  legislation,  so  materially, 
peihaps,  as  to  proscribe  them,  and  disfranchise 
them,  or  place  them  in  a  situation  where  they 
can  be  disfranchised.  Now,  sir,  we  are  not 
undertaking-  to  disfranchise  foreigners,  or  to 
keep  persons  from  voting  who  are  not  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  but  we  are  undertaking 
to  restrict  those  who,  under  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  and  the  State  of  Missouri, 
are  as  much  entitled  to  go  to  the  polls  as  any 
freeman  and  vote,  with  only  the  simple  quali- 
fication that  he  shall  be  a  free  white  male  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States,  and  twenty-one  years 
of  age.  But,  sir,  this  restriction  imposes  some- 
thing more  upon  them.  They  must  swear 
they  have  not  done  thus  and  so.  It  is  in  effect, 
then,  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
State  of  Missouri.  Now,  sir,  I  am  opposed  to 
it,  for  the  reason  that  so  large  a  number  of  the 
people  of  the  State  are  to  be  affected  by  it,  and, 
perhaps,  if  it  become  the  law  of  the  land  it  will 
be  upon  our  statute  book  a  nullity,  at  least  in 
innny  portions  of  the  State  of  Missouri.  I  ven- 
ture the  prediction  that  if  those  who  are  affect- 
ed or  expect  to  be  affected  by  this  legislation 
shall  return  to  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  re- 
main citizens  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  that  the 
law  which  we  enact  here,  and  the  pains  and 
penalties  which  are  to  be  inflicted  upon  the 
people,  will  never  be  carried  into  effect ;  and  I 
say  this  because  it  is  admitted  by  gentlemen  in 
debate,  that  thousands  of  citizens  have  been 
implicated  in  this  rebellion.  If  these  citizens 
return,  it  is  necessary  to  deprive  them  of  the 
privilege  of  voting  unless  they  shall  qualify. 
They  return  and  they  do  qualify,  and  many  of 
them  are  indicted  under  this  provision,  and 
they  go  before  the  proper  courts  of  the  land  to 
be  tried.  Then,  sir,  I  undertake  to  say — ad- 
mitting that  these  people  we  are  attempting  to 
proscribe  are  so  wicked — I  say,  if  they  are  so 
wicked,  they  will  not  allow  any  jury  in  the 
country  to  convict  a  man,  no  grand  jury  in  the 
country  can  be  found  to  indict  a  man,  and  no 
officers  can  be  had  to  serve  the  processes  which 
will  issue  to  bring  men  to  justice  under  this 
law.  This  law  then,  in  effect,  would  be  a  dead 
letter  on  our  statute  book  and  could  not  be 
carried  out.  Then,  sir,  I  hold  that  it  is  im- 
politic, for  the  reason  that  it  is  placing  upon 


the  statute  book  a  law  that,  in  many  portions 
of  the  State,  cannot  be  carried  into  effect ;  and 
it  is  well  known  that  when  any  law  is  enacted 
that  is  disregarded,  it  is  a  greater  injury  than 
if  no  such  law  had  ever  been  enacted.  It  is 
then  attempted  to  enact  only  such  laws  as  can 
be  enforced,  and  I  am  perfectly  satisfied,  in 
my  judgment,  that  if  this  be  enacted  and  per- 
;  sons  are  to  be  tried  for  the  penalties  laid  down 
here,  they  cannot  be  enforced. 

Mr.  President,  I  have  another  reason  for  op- 
posing the  proposition.  Now,  sir,  I  am  dis- 
!  cussing  the  whole  merits  of  this  question,  as 
the  debate  has  been  rambling  and  gentlemen 
!  have  not  confined  themselves  to  the  simple 
!  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Grundy.  I 
am  discussing  the  whole  proposition,  and  I 
suppose  this  is  admitted  as  proper.  I  have 
another  reason  for  opposing  this  restrictive 
measure,  and  it  is  this.  It  is  not  yet  settled  by 
this  Convention  whether  we  will  have  an  elec- 
tion for  any  of  the  offices  of  the  State  next 
August.  Now,  sir,  if  that  question  had  been 
settled  by  this  Convention,  and  it  was  under- 
stood and  agreed  that  there  should  be  no  elec- 
tion for  a  year  or  two  to  come,  why  the  propo- 
sition now  before  this  body  would  not,  in  my 
estimation,  be  liable  to  so  much  objection ;  but, 
sir,  here  we  .are  on  the  9th  day  of  June,  and 
before  this  body  will  adjourn,  probably  the 
middle  of  June  will  have  passed  by  ;  then 
there  will  be  but  six  weeks  from  the  time  the 
Convention  adjourns  up  to  the  time  the  elec- 
tion takes  place.  These  ordinances  have  all  to 
be  made  public,  otherwise  the  people  cannot 
act  understandingly  under  them.  The  ordi- 
nances have  all  to  be  made  public  and  sent  all 
over  the  State  for  the  people  to  know  what 
they  are.  Now,  I  ask  you  if  it  is  within  the 
range  of  possibility  that  these  ordinances  can 
be  published  and  circulated  throughout  the 
borders  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  in  many  por- 
tions of  which  there  are  no  mails  at  all,  and 
where,  sir,  it  is  dangerous  for  small  armies  to 
go,  on  account  of  marauding  bands  of  guerrillas. 
Then,  if  it  be  dangerous  for  small  armies  to  go 
through  these  places,  how,  in  the  name  of  com- 
mon sense,  can  the  mails  be  carried  through- 
out many  portions  of  this  State  ?  They  cannot 
be  carried  through  Southeast  Missouri,  and 
there  are  no  mails  worth  speaking  of  in  that 
whole  section.  I  say,  then,  this  ordinance  can- 
not reach  the  people  in  time  for  the  election, 
and  would  you  debar  them  from  the  privileges 
here  offered  to  them?  Then  suppose  an  elec- 
tion is  held,  and  the  proper  officers  go  to  work 


143 


and  send  out  the  poll  books,  and  an  election  is  | 
hold  under  the  old  order  of  things,  and  the  j 
people  go  to  the  polls  and  vote  without  having  \ 
heard  anything  at  all  about  this  ordinance.  J)o  j 
you  suppose  such  men  as  these,  who  rote  igno-  j 
rantly,  who  have  returned  from  Price's  army 
and  availed  themselves  of  the  amnesties  offered  j 
to  them,  and  others  who  have  returned  since  the  ! 
expiration  of  the  amnesty  —  do  you  contend  j 
that  they  are  deserving  of  punishment?     Yet  j 
they  are  to  be  indicted  and  tried.     We  may  be  j 
told  that   under  that  state  of  things  they  will  ; 
not  be  convicted.     Although  it  has  been  said 
that  every  man  is  presumed  to  know  what  the  i 
law  is,  ignorance  upon  this  subject  would  be  i 
excusable,  because  there  is  no  such  law  to  be 
found  in  any  of  the  States  of  the  Union  as  re- 
stricts native-born,  free  white  citizens.     These 
are  strange  times  and  strange  things  take  place; 
but  who  wants  to  be  put  on  trial  for  perjury, 
even  though  he  knows  he  is  innocent1?     The 
simple  fact  that  a  man  is  indicted  often  ruins 
him.  It  places  him  before  the  world  as  a  guilty 
criminal,  and  that  is  sufficient  for  enemies  to 
ruin  his  reputation. 

Mr.  President,  I  cannot  find  it  in  my  heart  to 
entertain  the  opinion  that  the  large  number  of 
men  engaged  in  this  rebellion,  and  members  of 
Price's  army,  are  the  bad  men — notorious  crim- 
inals—that they  have  been  represented.  I  say 
it  here,  that  it  is  my  humble  conviction  that 
nine-tenths  of  those  persons  who  flocked  to 
Price's  standard,  as  you  may  call  it,  did  so  un- 
der the  conviction  and  the  solemn  impression 
in  their  own  minds  that  they  were  fighting  for 
the  rights  guarantied  to  them  under  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  and  the  State  of 
Missouri.  As  to  whether  they  were  mistaken 
or  not,  is  not  the  question.  My  humble  con- 
viction is  that  they  believed  that  this  was  an 
abolition  war  inaugurated  against  the  people  of 
Missouri,  and  that  the  raids  inaugurated  in 
many  portions  of  Missouri  against  the  citizens 
were  for  the  purpose  of  emancipating  the  slaves, 
and  accomplishing  an  object  that  could  not  be 
accomplished  in  any  other  way.  There  was 
another  incident  that  strengthened  this  belief. 
Why,  sir,  an  army  was  sent  all  through  Mis- 
souri, and  that  army  arrested  Union  men,  stole 
the  property  of  Union  men,  and  imprisoned 
Union  men  and  those  who  are  called  secession- 
ists, and  those  who  have  sympathies  with  the 
South ;  and  the  people  were  exasperated  by 
this  conduct,  and  what  did  they  do  under  the 
circumstances  ?  Why,  they  went  into  the  ar- 
my that  they  supposed  was  beating  back  the 


insults  that  were  being  heaped  upon  th^m. 
Under  that  conviction,  many  men  joined  Price's 
army,  and  once  being  there,  it  won't  do  to  say 
they  must  act  up  to  this  law.  How  many  can 
doit?  Thousands  have  quit,  and  they  have 
been  taken  to  Alton,  and  there  incarcerated  in 
dungeons  for  months,  without  any  charge  be- 
ing preferred  against  them.  These  things 
have  deterred  thousands  of  men  from  returning 
that  would  otherwise  have  returned.  They 
had  gone  into  the  army,  and  their  names  had 
been  given  to  the  military,  and  they  knew  who 
had  left  their  homes.  These  men  were  atraid 
to  come  back  ;  and,  gentlemen,  I  state  what  I 
believe  to  be  a  solemn  truth  with  regard  to  this 
thing  :  men  were  driven  from  home,  and  actu- 
ally went  into  Thompson's  army,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  up  arms  or  joining  the  army, 
but  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  arrest  and  be- 
ing taken  away.  They  knew  the  officers  of 
the  Government  were  after  them,  and  they 
took  shelter  among  the  enemies  of  their  Gov- 
ernment^ and  there  sought  protection.  That  is 
a  strange  thing — that  men  should  go  into  the 
army  of  an  enemy  to  get  protection  against  a 
Government  that  had  hitherto  protected  them. 
These  things  are  incident  to  war.  No  such 
events  had  ever  taken  place  in  this  country  be- 
fore, and  the  people  did  not  know  how  to 
act  in  them.  There  were  a  great  many  men 
who  were  not  as  wise  as  I  was,  and  I  do  not 
claim  to  be  especially  favored  in  this  respect ; 
but  I  took  the  precaution  to  remain  at  home, 
and  when  the  soldiers  came  to  my  house,  I 
just  simply  delivered  myself  up.  But  that  was 
not  Ihe  way  the  clerk  of  our  county  court  did. 
He  started  off,  and  he  has  been  run  down  ever 
since.  I  have  not  heard  that  he  has  taken  up 
arms. 

Mr.  LEEPER.  The  cleik  of  your  court  was 
Acting  Adjutant  in  Mr.  Low's  regiment. 

Mr.  PIPKIN.  I  suppose  the  gentleman 
knows,  but  I  do  know  thdt  others  have  been 
hunted  down  who  have  never  taken  up  arms. 
I  say,  then,  where  men  have  gone  into  Price's 
army,  they  have,  in  a  great  many  instances, 
done  so  under  circumstance s  like  those  to  which 
I  have  referred.  That  many  did  go,  and  will 
remain  there,  with  the  purpose  of  subvening 
this  Government,  I  have  no  doubt ;  but  I  firmly 
believe  there  are  thousands  who  did  not  go  with 
any  purpose  of  overturning  the  Government  of 
the  United  States.  They  only  believed  they 
were  fighting  for  Southern  rights  and  privi- 
leges ;  and  if  they  are  invited  to  come  back, 
they  will  come  back  and  lay  down  their  arms. 


144 


They  have  been  considered  as  respectable  men 
in  all  transactions  of  life,  heretofore;  and  I  ask. 
will  this  Convention  impose  upon  them  the 
odious  restriction  that  is  attempted  to  be  thrown 
around  them  and  all  citizens  of  the  State? 

Mr.  President,  we  may  all  take  the  oath; 
everybody  can  be  sworn  to  support  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 
This  thing  of  swearing  has  become  too  com- 
mon for  the  public  good.  It  is  like  everything 
else.  There  are  certain  things  that  by  constant 
use  are  abused.  It  is  just  so  with  swearing. 
This  indiscriminate  way  of  swearing  everybody 
and  everything,  will  finally  destroy  the  solem- 
nity and  sanctity  of  an  oath.  And,  sir,  when 
we  come  to  swear  hundreds  of  people  on 
election  day,  in  the  manner  here  proposed,  it 
will  finally  become  a  mere  matter  of  sport. 
Gentlemen,  that  is  not  the  way  to  treat  this 
serious  subject.  Administer  oaths  to  those 
who  are  elected,  and  to  such  as  they  have  been 
administered  in  times  past,  with  such  restric- 
tions as  may  be  necessary  at  the  present  time. 
The  impracticability  of  convicting  men  of 
perjury  who  shall  take  an  oath  on  election  day 
and  violate  it,  I  think  must  be  apparent  to  every 
member  on  this  floor.  The  oath  is  not  re- 
corded, and  the  judges  of  elections  could  not 
tell  whether  they  had  sworn  a  certain  man. 
Suppose  he  be  indicted  for  perjury  for  taking 
and  violating  an  oath  that  he  had  not  taken  up 
arm?,  and  the  question  arises  on  trial  as  to 
whether  the  oath  was  administered,  and  the 
judges  of  elections  are  called  upon  to  say  whether 
the  oath  was  administered  to  him.  The  judge 
of  elections  would  say,  "there  were  so  many 
thousands  sworn  in  on  that  day  that  I  cannot 
tell  whether  I  administered  the  oath  to  this 
man  or  not."  Now,  can  any  man  be  convicted 
of  perjury  under  such  circumstances  ? 

But  another  reason  why  I  am  opposed  to 
this  proposition :  I  am  told  that  in  the  interior 
portion  of  the  State  some  counties  are  very 
rebellious  ;  but  from  the  speech  of  the  gentle, 
man  from  Clinton,  we  are  made  to  believe  that 
three  thousand  have  already  returned  to  a 
particular  district.  Well,  now,  if  that  number 
are  to  be  found  who  are  willing  to  lay  down 
their  arms,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  a  very 
large  number  of  these  have  been  implicated  in 
this  thing  one  way  or  another.  I  say,  grand 
juries  and  sheriffs  of  courts  cannot  be  found  in 
these  localities  to  convict  these  men.  Another 
objection  is,  it  will  array  one  portion  of  the 
community  against  another.  Here  is  Mr. 


Price,  or  anybody  implicated  in  this  rebellion. 
He  owns  property  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  and 
tie  has  gone  out  under  the  impression  that  he  is 
fighting  for  his  rights.  He  comes  back  here 
determined  to  support  this  State  Government 
and  the  United  States  Government.  He  is 
affected  by  the  State  legislation,  and  he  desires 
to  have  something  to  say  in  the  choice  of  those 
who  shall  serve  and  make  laws  for  him.  But 
we  array  one  portion  of  the  community  against 
the  other  by  prescribing  these  test  oaths.  It  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  arraying  Southern 
sympathizers  against  Union  men,  and  I  am 
opposed  to  it.  Better  proscribe  them  entirely 
and  give  them  no  privileges,  and  let  them  rest 
on  the  broad  ground  that  they  have  committed 
treason,  and,  having  done  that,  let  them  pay  the 
dread  penalty  of  the  law  for  it.  The  statute 
provides  that  those  guilty  of  treason  are  subject 
to  be  imprisoned  and  deprived  of  the  right  of 
the  elective  franchise.  I  say,  let  this  law  be 
enforced  against  them  rather  than  pursue  the 
course  which  is  here  proposed.  I  say  it  would 
be  a  most  unfortunate  thing  at  this  time,  when 
peace  is  being  restored,  and  when  the  Pro- 
visional Government  is  becoming  popular,  to 
adopt  a  measure  of  this  kind,  because  it  would 
throw  a  firebrand  into  the  ballot  box* 

Mr.  President,  we  have  been  told  that  Mis- 
souri has  been  and  is  now  loyal.  That  proposi- 
tion I  do  not  dispute;  and  taking  the  action  of  this 
body,  from  the  beginning  up  to  the  present  time, 
we  have  an  evidence  of  this  fact.  I  take  it  for 
granted  that  these  members  represent  the  will 
of  their  constituents,  and  that  the  people  of 
Missouri  are  loyal  to-day ;  I  have  been — and  if 
that  be  so,  and  there  is  a  majority  of  loyal  men 
in  the  State  of  Missouri  now,  they  are  certainly 
likely  to  be  loyal  at  the  time  the  next  election 
would  take  place.  If  they  are  then  loyal,  it  is 
not  at  all  likely  that  any  man  will  run  other 
than  as  a  loyal  citizen,  for  any  office  ;  conse- 
quently, there  is  no  danger  of  the  Government 
being  wrested  from  loyal  men  by  secessionists; 
and  even  if  the  thing  were  possible,  I  undertake 
to  say  that  if  a  disloyal  Governor  should  be 
elected,  or  a  disloyal  member  of  Congress,  the 
General  Government  would  see  that  these  dis- 
loyal men  did  not  take  their  seats.  A  disloyal 
member  of  Congress  would  be  expelled  from 
his  seat.  The  Government  has  taken  care,  in 
times  past,  of  its  disloyal  office-holders,  and  it 
will  take  care  hereafter  that  no  disloyal  man 
is  placed  in  a  position  to  injure  the  Govern- 
ment. 

Now,  sir,  I  do  not  profess  to  be  a  constitu- 


145 


tional  lawyer,  nor  able  to  combat  the -arguments 
of  my  friend  from  St.  Louis,  who  read  certain 
authorities  here  upon  the  constitutionality  of 
his  proposition,  but  I  have  made  up  my  mind 
on  this  matter  of  constitutionality.  It  is  retro- 
spective ;  it  affects  all  persons  ;  and  if  it  affects 
persons  as  to  their  past  conduct,  it  is  in  spirit 
ex  post  facto  retrospective,  and  is  therefore 
unconstitutional.  I  have  not  the  authority 
which  the  gentleman  read.  I  desired  to  refer 
to  it  when  I  commenced  my  argument,  but  not 
having  read  it,  I  cannot  put  my  construction 
upon  it ;  but  my  view  of  the  matter  is,  that  the 
passage  of  a  law  affecting  persons  up  to  the 
present  time  would  be  retrospective.  The 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Grundy, 
which  would  take  effect  to-morrow,  would  not 
be  retrospective,  and  would  not  be  obnoxious 
on  the  charge  of  unconstitutionality.  But  it  is 
inexpedient,  if  not  unconstitutional,  to  legislate 
upon  a  proposition,  at  this  time,  of  such  im- 
portance as  this,  or  upon  any  other  important 
matter  that  can  be  dispensed  with. 

It  is  well  known,  sir,  that  we  were  elected  in 
a  time  of  peace.  We  were  elected  for  the 
express  purpose  of  passing  upon  the  question 
as  to  whether  the  State  should  maintain  her 
old  moorings  with  regard  to  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, or  whether  she  should  pass  an  ordi- 
nance of  secession.  That  was  the  question 
upon  which  the  members  of  this  Convention 
were  elected ;  and  it  could  not  have  been  in  the 
anticipation  of  any  man  who  went  to  the  polls 
at  that  time,  that  we  would  come  to  our  present 
condition.  The  questions  upon  which  we  are 
called  upon  to  decide  are  wholly  different  from 
those  which  we  were  elected  to  pass  upon,  and 
I  hold  it  would  be  bad  policy  to  enact  such  an 
ordinance  as  this.  With  these  objections,  I 
yield  the  floor. 

Mr.  McCoRMACK.  I  understood  the  gentle- 
man to  state,  in  his  argument,  that  no  law 
similar  to  the  one  we  propose  to  pass  could  be 
found  on  any  of  the  statute  books  of  any  State. 
Now,  I  do  not  understand  the  proposition  to 
disfranchise  for  treasonable  acts  is  a  new  thing 
at  all.  The  crime  of  treason,  according  to  the 
Constitution  of  this  State,  is  punishable  with 
death,  or  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for 
the  period  of  ten  years.  Mr.  President,  I  think 
this  is  too  much  ado  about  nothing.  I  think 
there  is  nothing  wrong  in  denying  men  the 
right  to  vote,  who  have  been  guilty  of  the  crime 
of  treason.  I  believe  it  is  proper  and  right,  in 
order  to  secure  the  peace  of  Missouri,  and  to 
secure  the  election  of  loyal  men,  that  we  should 


place  these  restrictions  around  the  polls  at  our 
ensuing  election. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS.  Mr.  President :  Unlike  my 
friend  from  Iron,  I  shall  not  speak  for  the 
purpose  of  transmitting  my  words  to  posterity, 
for  perhaps  they  will  not  add  much  to  the 
glory  of  my  name  ;  but  as  it  seems  that  speak- 
ing works  great  revolutions  in  opinion  here,  I 
may  not  vainly  hope  to  revolutionize  some 
mind  in  this  Convention.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered, Mr.  President,  that  a  few  days  ago  the 
honorable  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  &c.,  submitted  a  report  providing 
that  "  no  person  who  has,  since  the  first  day  of 
August,  1861,  taken  up  arms  against  the  United 
States,  or  who  has  since  that  time  adhered  to, 
or  given  aid,  assistance  or  encouragement  to  those 
engaged  in  carrying  on  the  present  rebellion, 
shall  be  qualified  to  hold  any  office  of  honor, 
trust  or  profit  under  the  Constitution  and  laws 
of  this  State,  nor  to  vote  at  any  election  held 
under  or  in  pursuance  of  said  Constitution  and 
laws,  from  and  after  the  passage  of  this  ordi- 
nance." After  this  ordinance  was  discussed  a 
day,  the  honorable  chairman  not  only  turns 
upon  and  destroys  his  own  offspring  by  voting 
against  it,  but  brings  in  an  ordinance  entirely 
prospective  in  its  operations,  and  makes  a  la- 
bored speech  against  the  amendment  of  the 
gentleman  from  St.  Louis,  which  proposes  to 
deny  the  elective  franchire  to  those  only  who 
have  taken  up  arms  or  levied  war  against  the 
United  States,  &c.,  since  the  17th  day  of  De- 
cember, 1861.  Then,  the  gentleman  from  Da- 
viess  was  not  only  willing  to  impose  restric- 
tions so  far  back  as  the  17th  December,  1861, 
but  to  the  1st  of  August,  1861.  And  now,  he 
pleads  with  tears  in  his  eyes  and  beseeching 
words  against  any  retrospective  ordinance. 
And  since  the  honorable  chairman  is  so  im- 
pressible and  facile,  I  am  not  without  hope 
that  even  so  bumble  an  one  as  I  may  again 
change  his  mind.  His  past  susceptibility  jus- 
tifies an  effort  at  least. 

The  gentleman  who,  a  few  days  since,  pub- 
lished to  the  reading  world  his  willingness  to 
proscribe  all  rebels  in  arms  or  sympathizing 
with  the  rebellion  after  the  first  August,  1861, 
to-day  has  his  sympathies  all  aroused  in  behalf 
of  these  men,  and  discovers  in  these  recusant,  re- 
pentant sinners  something  worthy  of  all  admira- 
tion, entitling  them  to  the  highest  confidence — 
worthy  to  be  entrusted  with  the  most  sacred 
things  pertaining  to  the  administration  of  civil 
law  and  political  economy.  The  gentleman 
wholly  repudiates  that  old  idea  that  "  consisten- 


146 


cy  is  a  jewel."  In  a  flame  of  words  he  carried  us 
with  the  lamented  Lyon  in  his  triumphal  march 
from  Boonville  to  Springfield.     He  shed  a  tear 
over  the  great  man's  fall,  and  in  words  of 
touching  tenderness  deplored  the  unprotected 
and  distressed  condition  of  the  hundreds,  aye, 
thousands  of  loyal  men  in  the  Southwest  who 
became   victims  to   rebel   impressments,   and 
nolens   volens   were   forced    to   take   up   arms 
against  the  United  States  Government.     Such 
men  are  entitled  to  our  warmest  sympathies. 
But  what  new  light  has  broken  upon  the  vision 
of  the  gentleman   from  Daviess  that  he  now 
sees  virtue  where,  three  days  ago,  he  saw  noth- 
ing good  ?     Then,  he  was  willing  to  proscribe 
all  men  who  had  been  in  arms  or  given  assist- 
ance against  the  Government  since  the  1st  Au- 
gust, 1861,  which  would  have  included  every 
one  of  those  unfortunate  men  so  central  in  his 
affections  to-day — for  the  battle  of  Wilson's 
Creek  was  not  fought  until  after  the  1st  Au- 
gust.    While  now,  when  it  is  proposed  to  pre- 
scribe those  only  who  took  up  arms  or  levied 
war,  wilfully,  after  17th  December,  the  gen- 
tleman's indignation  is  all  aroused.    The  atten- 
tion of  the  Convention  is  called  to  the  fact  that 
the  amendment  offered  by  my  friend  from  St. 
Louis,  has  incorporated  in  it  the  word  "  wil- 
fully."    So  that  this  amendment  cannot,  by 
any  possible  construction,  affect  those  who  by 
duress  or  fear,  were  induced  to  take  up  arms, 
or  render  assistance.     And  no  man  would  ever 
dream  that  such  men  as  were  by  no  choice  of 
theirs   in  the  rebel  army,  were  proscribed  by 
this  ordinance,  unless  he,  like  the  honorable 
chairman,  were  in  a  strait  to  justify  his  own 
inconsistency. 

It  is  asked  why  date  this  ordinance,  in  its  op- 
eration, back  to  the  17th  December,  1861.  Mr. 
President,  I  can  tell  you  my  reasons.  The 
history  of  this  rebellion  in  Missouri  is  familiar 
to  this  body.  We  all  know  how,  in  its  incep- 
tion, hundreds  of  impulsive  young  men,  and 
unthinking  old  men,  were  carried  into  Jack- 
son's army.  They  were  inveigled  and  seduced 
into  it.  Their  chivalry  and  their  manhood 
were  invoked  to  rise  up  and  defend  their  fire- 
sides and  family  altars,  under  the  delusion  that 
these  were  invaded.  The  fact  that  the  prime 
and  real  object  of  Jackson  and  his  conspirators 
was  to  tear  Missouri  away  from  her  Constitution- 
al moorings,  and  float  her  out  upon  the  untried 
sea  of  rebellion,  was  studiously  concealed  ; 
whilst  it  was  as  insidiously  and  energetically 
urged  that  the  object  of  the  State  Guards  was 
to  defend  the  Constitutional  rights  of  the  peo- 


ple inside   of    the    Union.      The    "southern 
heart"  was  fired,  and,  without  time  to  consider 
whither   we   were   drifting,   the  people  were 
pressed  onward  and  onward  in  rebellion.    But 
as  the  real  purpose  of  Price  and  his  co-workers 
began  to  develop  itself  many  of  their  followers 
abandoned  the  cause.     From  the  time  the  gal- 
lant Lyon  set  his  foot  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Missouri  river  at  Boonville-up  to  the  October 
session  of  this  Convention,  proclamation  after 
proclamation  was   issued   by  the   authorities 
calling  upon  the  insurgents  in  Missouri  to  lay 
down  their  arms  and  return  to  their  homes  and 
their  allegiance,  promising  to  them  protection 
and  indemnity.     When   the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment was  invoked,  out  of  the  necessities  of 
the  case  thrust  upon  us  by  traitors,  Gov.  Gam- 
ble, in  the  magnanimity  of  bis  soul,  as  well  as 
a  desire  to  impress  the  fact  that  his  policy  was 
peace  and  not  war,  issued  his  proclamation  in- 
viting these  men  home.    Many  did  come  home, 
and  if  for  an  honest  purpose,  I  can  throw  the 
mantle  of  charity  over  their  follies.     But,  sir, 
can  any  man  who  persisted  in  this   rebellion 
throughout  all  of  1861  in  Missouri,  put  in  the 
plea  of  ignorance  as  to  the  policy  and  treason- 
able objects  of  Price's  army?     How    can    he 
plead  ignorance,  when  that  army  was  joined  by 
an  army  from  Texas,  Arkansas,  Tennessee — 
States  claiming  to  belong  to  another  govern- 
ment ?     How  can  he  plead  ignorance  in  view 
of  the  compact  made  between  the    Commis- 
sioners sent  by  Jackson  and  the  authorities  at 
Richmond,  transferringMissouri,  like  achattel, 
to  the  Confederacy?     How  can  he  plead  his 
innocence  of  deep,  wilful  treason,  when  in  the 
face  of  the  hollow  and  false  pretences  of  Jack- 
son and  his  henchmen  in  starting  out  in  this 
rebellion,  the  impudent  assumption  of  Jackson 
at  New  Madrid,  in  proclaiming  Missouri  out 
of  the  Union,  coupled  with  the  audacious  arro- 
gance of  the  Neo>ho  Legislature,  all  rise  up  in 
their   naked   deformity?     How  can   he  plead 
gnorance  of  all  these  things,  when  the  "  Army 
Argus,"  published  inside  of  the  lines  of  their 
army,  was  daily  fulminating  these  things  upon 
pon  their  ears  ? 

Still  further,  this  Convention,  at  its  October 
session,  disposed,  as  ever,  to  conciliate,  held 
out  the  olive  branch  of  peace  to  these  rebels. 
And  the  man  who  thereafter  persisted  in  his 
opposition  to  the  Government — who  still  con- 
tinued in  arms — stands  before  the  world  with- 
out an  excuse.  This  Convention,  after  holding 
oat  this  invitation,  is  pledged  to  redeem  it.  It 
owes  it  to  its  own  dignity  to  preserve  a  consis- 


147 


tent  record.  Besides,  I  hold  that  men  who 
came  home  untier  that  ordinance  and  took  the 
oath  deserve  an  honorable  exception.  Unlike 
that  vast  multitude  of  rebels  who  are  gathered 
up  from  the  sinks  and  by-ways  of  the  country 
by  scouts  and  dragged  before  the  Provost  Mar- 
shal to  be  sworn,  those  have  taken  the  oath 
prescribed  by  the  ordinance,  come  forward 
voluntarily,  and  went  before  the  county  court 
clerks  and  made  this  oath,  like  men  who  are 
not  ashamed  to  confess  a  fault  and  embrace  a 
right.  And,  sir,  wherever  we  can  find  so  much 
of  nobility  among  secessionists,  it  is  our  duty 
to  guard  it  well;  for,  I  assure  you,  it  is  a  gem 
rarely  found  in  such  localities — all  the  more 
precious  because  of  its  scarcity. 

The  gentleman  from  Clinton,  whose  mind 
to-day  perambulates  about  as  much  as  his  body, 
exonerates  the  unreturned  rebels  upon  the 
ground  that  they  had  no  means  of  being  in- 
formed of  the  existence  of  the  ordinance  in 
question.  On  the  rne  hand  there  is  an  exemp- 
tion claimed  by  that  side  of  the  house,  tor  men 
who  returned  because  they  were  induced  thereto 
by  this  ordinance;  and  on  the  other  hand,  by 
the  same  s:de,  it  is  claimed  that  the  ordinance 
never  reached  the  camp  of  Price.  "  A  house 
divided  againstatself  cannot  stand."  I  assert, 
Mr.  President,  that  if  a  rebel  victory  anywhere 
between  the  Potomac  and  the  West  had  been 
heralded  in  the  newspapers  of  St.  Louis  it 
would  have  reached  the  humblest  tent  in  Price's 
army.  The  gentleman  himself,  at  Sedalia,  on 
his  return  from  that  army,  where  he  had  been 
a  prisoner,  told  me  that  he  saw  in  camp  a 
St.  Louis  paper  only  four  days  old.  Even 
granting  they  knew  nothing  of  the  amnesty,  it 
is  their  fault,  the  bitter  fruits  of  which  they 
deserve  to  eat,  for  having  wilfully  placed  them- 
selves where  knowledge  could  not  go. 

But  the  gentleman  from  Clinton,  whose  bow- 
els of  compassion  seem  so  much  moved  of  late 
in  behalf  of  these  rebels,  says  they  could  not 
have  come  home  under  the  protecting  wing  of 
the  amnesty  ordinance,  because  their  term  of 
enlistment  had  not  expired,  and  they  would 
have  been  punished  and  shot  as  deserters  if 
they  had  laid  down  their  arms.  Sir,  it  is  a  very 
remarkable  fact,  that  just  after  the  Pea  Ridge 
battle,  the  term  of  service  of  about  one-fourth 
of  that  army  expired.  It  so  happened  that 
just  after  that  battle  the  six  months  and  the 
twelve  months,  and  the  "whole  war"  men 
were  all  mustered  out  of  the  service.  And 
what  is  still  more  remarkable,  Gen.  Curtis  was 
the  mustering  officer.  As  soon  as  the  smoke 


of  that  battle  cleared  away  the  existence  of  our 
amnesties  broke  upon  their  miads  like  the  light 
'hat  fell  upon  Saul  as  he  journeyed  from  Jeru- 
salem to  Damascus.  And  it  is  not  improbable 
that  the  "  three  thous-and  "  spoken  of  so  feel- 
ingly by  the  gentleman  from  Clinton,  got  their 
discharges  and  formed  the  high  purpose  of 
returning  to  their  allegiance  just  after  the  Pea 
Ridge  fight  !  But,  in  all  sobriety,  is  it  not  as- 
tonishing that  the  vagrant  scrap  cut  from  the 
Democrat  should  be  so  relied  on,  so  much  ex- 
ulted over  by  Judge  Birch?  When  did  the 
Democrat  become  authority  with  him?  Gen. 
Price  said  to  the  world  in  his  "  hark  from  the 
tomb"  proclamation,  that  he  had  received  from 
Missouri,  under  Gov.  Jackson's  call,  not  more 
than  nve  thousand  men,  and  yet  the  gentleman 
would  make  the  impression  that  to  one  district 
ia  this  State  "three  thousand"  had  of  late 
returned  !  He  would  make  capital  out  of  a 
statement  which  he  himself  knows  to  be  false. 
He  would  have  the  people  who  reads  his  speech 
believe  a  statement  as  true  which  he  himself 
discredits. 

What  if  these  have  come  home  of  late  !  We 
should  receive  them  and  protect  them.  But  did 
we  tell  them  they  should  be  admitted  to  the  elec- 
tive franchise?  Did  we  tell  them,  although  you 
have  put  the  knife  to  the  thioat  of  patriotism  ; 
although  you  have  secluded  from  his  wigwam 
on  our  western  wilds  the  savage  Indian,  and 
have  stood  side  by  side  with  him  upon  the 
blood-red  plains  of  Pea  Ridge,  and  seen  him 
tomahawk  our  dying  and  scalp  our  dead  sol- 
diers;  although  you  have  fired  from  ambush  ; 
although  you  have  precipitated  trains  into  wa- 
tery graves,  murdering  indiscriminately  friend 
and  foe,  age  and  youth,  innocence  and  beauty  ; 
and  while  you  can  say,  "the  hurricane  I  left 
behind  is  yet  with  lightning  warm,"  while 
your  hands  are  yet  dripping  with  the  blood  of 
the  murdered  peace  of  society  in  Missouri, — 
that  you  should  be  admitted  to  minister  the  sa- 
cred things  pertaining  to  civil  and  political 
affairs — that  you  should  administer  the  laws 
of  a  government  which  you  have  betrayed, 
whose  authority,  aye,  very  existence,  you  de- 
nied? Have  we  not  a  right,  in  all  conscience, 
to  say  to  these  men :  You  have  sinned 
against  the  Government  of  your  fathers,  lay 
down  your  arms,  return  to  your  families  and 
allegiance,  we'll  protect  you  in  your  person 
and  your  property  ;  but  while  the  storm  of 
revolution  yet  rages,  we  prefer  to  place  at  the 
helm  men  who,  through  all  the  stormy  scenes 
of  the  past  pear,  have  directed  and  clung  to 


148 


the  old  ship  of  State?  Let  loyalty  yet  awhile 
reap  its  just  rewards.  Sir,  if  these  men  have 
come  home  with  the  honest  purpose  attributed 
to  them,  they  cannot,  they  will  not,  complain 
that  loyal  men  are  to  rule  over  them  for  a 
while.  If  they  are  sincere  in  their  attachment 
to  the  Federal  and  Provisional  Governments, 
they  can  fear  no  evil  from  their  being  admin- 
istered by  loyalists.  They  cannot  expect  less. 
There  was  not  a  man  who  entered  the  rebel 
service  who  did  not  stake  all  upon  the  success 
of  that  cause,  and  who  did  not  expect  to  be 
dealt  with  as  a  traitor  in  the  event  it  failed. 

Gentlemen  talk  as  though  this  amendment 
imposed  a  restriction  extending  to  all  time  to 
come.  Not  so.  The  last  section  of  the  ordi- 
nance enabling  the  Legislature  to  repeal  this 
ordinance  is  a  virtual  recommendation  on  our 
part  to  the  Legislature  to  repeal  it  just  so  soon 
?is  the  public  good  will  suffer  it.  I  shall  not 
express  my  distrust  of  the  honesty,  the  justice, 
the  liberality  of  a  loyal  Legislature,  by  saying 
they  will  wantonly  withhold  suffrage  from 
these  men,  because  they  have  the  power.  I 
have  more  confidence  in  the  Union  men  of 
Missouri  than  some  gentlemen  on  this  floor. 

It  is  said  this  restrictive  measure  is  degrading 
to  those  affected  by  it.  The  Governors  of  the 
various  States,  after  a  year's  experience,  have 
seen  fit  to  recommend  that  soldiers  in  the  ar- 
my— the  men  who  are  offering  their  lives  in 
support  of  the  Government—should  not  be  al- 
lowed to  vote.  Gov.  Gamble  did  it  in  his  mes- 
sage to  this  body,  a  few  days  ago.  Think  you 
it  was  the  object  or  the  effect  of  these  recom- 
mendations to  degrade  these  brave  soldiers  ? 
The  Constitution  of  Missouri  proscribes  the 
clergy  from  civil  offices  of  trust  and  profit. 
Does  this  degrade  the  ministry  ?  Our  Consti- 
tution prevents  our  young  men  from  voting 
before  they  are  twenty-one  years  old.  Is  this 
a  degradation  to  the  young  men  of  the  land  ? 
Or,  are  these  restrictions  not  thrown  around 
the  elective  franchise  as  safeguards  to  preserve 
the  health  and  life  of  the  State?  • 

It  is  argued  by  gentlemen  that  this  is  an  "ex 
post  facto"  law,  because  it  prescribes  a  pun- 
ishment for  an  offence  for  which  there  was  no 
punishment  provided  at  the  time  of  its  commis- 
sion. And  these  same  gentlemen  have  voted  for 
the  application  of  this  restriction  to  aspirants 
for  office.  You  proscribe  them  because  of  pasl 
sins,  and  had  no  qualms  of  conscience  on  ac- 
count of  its  retroactive  character.  The  versa- 
tile gentlemen  from  Clinton  says  we  would 
lt  degrade  to  the  level  of  the  negro"  these  men, 


and  that  he  will  never  be  found  denying  men 
he  right  to  vote,  guaranteed  to  them  by  the 
Constitution,  unless  prosecuted  to  conviction 
'or  crime.  And  yet,  in  the  same  breath,  he 
expresses  his  willingness  to  proscribe,  and  by 
lis  vote  here  has  proscribed,  men  from  voting 
who  hereafter  tak*  up  arms  or  levy  war,  and 
that,  too,  without  any  prosecution  to  a  convic- 
;ion.  He  is  a  venerable  man,  full  of  consis- 
;ency  !  The  restriction  is  no  punishment.  It 
is  a  precautionary  measure  to  guard  the  sanc- 
tity of  the  elective  franchise  against  pollution. 
It  is  a  mere  consequence  flowing  from  a  past 
act,  extending  in  its  influence  to  all  the  future. 
It  is  to  check  and  bind  with  bands  of  iron  this 
evil  monster  that  this  measure  is  invoked.  It 
may  work  a  hardship  somewhere.  But  there 
never  was  devised  by  human  wisdom  a  law  that 
in  the  entire  scope  of  its  operations  was  health- 
ful and  harmless  everywhere,  and  hurtful  no- 
where. The  lesser  evil  must  be  endured,  that 
the  greater  good  may  be  accomplished.  As  to 
individuals,  so  to  States,  self-preservation  is  a 
first  duty.  It  is  an  all-pervading  principle  of 
nature : 

It  lives  through  all  life — extends  through  all  extent ; 

Spreads  undivided— operates  unspent, 

The  gentleman  from  Iron  is  in  error  when  he 
says  there  is  not  on  record  a  parallel  proceed- 
ing to  this.  In  turning  my  eyes  to  the  statutes 
of  a  State  worthy  to  be  called  our  sister,  they 
catch  an  example  well  to  be  remembered  and 
followed.  It  is  not  servile  to  imitate  Kentucky. 
Her  whole  history  is  a  record  of  intellect,  chi- 
valry and  patriotism,  and  the  heart  of  every 
loyal  man — of  every  lover  of  freedom  every- 
where— thrills  with  a  new  spirit  when  he  reads 
of  her  unbought  and  unpurchasable  loyalty  to 
the  flag  and  Union — made  sacred  by  the  love 
borne  them  by  her  Clay.  In  this,  the  greatest 
of  all  crises,  Kentucky  has  illustrated  herself 
again.  [Here  the  speaker  read  from  session 
acts  of  Kentucky  Legislature  of  1861  and  1862, 
showing  that  she  had  not  only  expatriated  all 
those  who  left  the  State  either  in  a  civil  or 
military  capacity  thereafter  to  engage  in  the 
rebellion,  but  had  passed  laws  to  prosecute  and 
treat  as  felons  all  who  waged  war  on  the  State, 
and  those  who  induced  them  thereto,  and  de- 
nies to  secessionists  any  of  the  rights  or  privi- 
leges guaranteed  to  the  political  parties  of  that 
State  by  the  act  of,  &c.,  &c.]  It  will  be  borne 
in  mind,  Mr.  President,  that  these  acts  affect 
nearly  all  the  rebels  in  arms  from  Kentucky, 
for  up  to  their  passage  not  one  in  ten  had  re- 
turned home.  What  are  the  results  of  such 


149 


legislation  there?  From  the  centre  of  her 
great  heart  to  its  utmost  verge  she  is  loyal. 
No  traitor  rules  in  her  counsels,  because,  with 
a  decisive  energy  and  boldness  worthy  of  all 
her  glorious  past,  she  at  once  planted  her  heel 
upon  the  viperous  head  of  secession,  and 
cruslu'd  out  its  venom  and  itp  strength.  Nor 
was  anybody  "  exasperated"  to  that  alarming 
extent  which,  like  a  frightful  spectre,  flits  be- 
fore the  vision  of  my  friend  from  Greene.  "  In 
words  of  learned  length  and  thundering  sound" 
we  were  told  in  this  hall,  last  July,  that  if  we 
made  a  Provisional  Government  we  would 
"  exasperate"  somebody,  and  that  every  hill 
top  and  valley  would  become  a  smoking  battle- 
field, and  every  rivulet  run  red  with  blood. 
And  yet,  the  Provisional  Government  survives — 
is  a  proud  monument  of  the  wisdom  and  patri- 
otism of  this  Convention.  It  is  a  splendid  suc- 
cess. From  its  ramparts  the  banner  of  peace 
has  been  thrown  to  the  breeze,  and  the  people 
of  Missouri  are  fast  gathering  and  taking  shel- 
ter under  its  healthful  shadow.  Whilst  he  who, 
by  his  rhetoric  and  fantasies,  undertook  to 
frighten  this  Convention  from  its  propriety, 
himself  left  the  State  for  the  State's  good,  and 
turns  up  a  peripatetic  army  lecturer  in  "  Hard 
Scrabble,''  Arkansas  And  this  Convention 
has  put  upon  him  the  seal  of  condemnation,  by 
expelling  him  from  its  membership.  I  warn 
gentlemen,  therefore,  against  any  further  imi- 
tation of  his  bad  example. 

A  very  nice  discrimination  is  urawn  by  some 
gentlemen  between  office  holders  and  voters. 
Their  logic  is  too  astute  for  me.  Can  it  be 
denied  that  ths  sovereign  people  govern  this 
country  ?  The  ballot-box  is  the  political  ful- 
crum of  the  nation.  Through  it  office  holders 
are  created.  Judge  Orr  would  strangle  the 
creature,  but  let  live  the  creator.  Like  con- 
stituents, like  representatives.  Despite  all  your 
high-sounding  theories  about  an  official  digni- 
tary following  the  dictate  of  his  judgment  and 
asserting  a  manly  independence,  yet  for  the 
pelf  and  honor  of  place  he  is  generally  found 
searching  out  the  prejudices  and  predilections 
of  his  constituents — not  with  a  view  to  their 
correction,  if  thought  to  be  pernicious,  but  to 
feed  and  flatter  them,  the  better  to  ingratiate 
himself  into  the  favor  of  the  "dear  voter."  So 
I  argue  against  the  danger  lurking  here.  A 
man  may  for  a  time  resist,  but,  like  contact 
with  any  other  vice,  he  will  "  first  endure, 
then  pity,  then  embrace."  Disloyal  men  will 
always  run  and  vote  for  the  man  whose  views 
most  harmonize  with  theirs.  And  your  tender 


policy  towards  rebels  will  have  your  Legisla- 
ture and  all  offices  filled  with  "half  breed," 
Janus-faced  Union  men,  who  will  shed  no  tear 
even  though  patriotism  wane  and  die. 

The  diseases  of  the  body  politic  demand  sur- 
gery and  powerful  nauseates.  The  homceopa- 
thic,  "  catnip"  practice  of  some  political  doc- 
tors here  will  never  relieve  the  patient.  He  may 
writhe  under  the  treatment,  but,  after  all,  he 
will  be  on  his  feet,  and  will  thank  you  for  your 
resolution  and  skill.  Let  no  threats — let  no 
demagoguical  cant  about  favoring  abolitionism 
deter  this  Convention  from  the  discharge  of  a 
lofty  duty  to  the  country.  I  would  do  nothing 
in  malice.  Heaven  knows  my  bosom  flows 
with  sympathy  towards  the  misguided  of  my 
race.  The  rebel  cause  numbers  among  its  sym- 
pathizers all  my  kindred.  My  own  father, 
now  doubly  dear  to  me  because  of  his  whiten- 
ing locks  pointing  to  the  grave,  differs  wid-  ly 
with  me  on  these  issues.  But  between  ;ur  and 
my  country  T  know  no  man.  I  long  for  tlie 
day  when  families,  and  neighborrioods,  and 
sections  will  be  united,  as  I  desire  the  States  of 
the  Union,  in  a  common  bond  of  brotherhood, 
affection  and  interest,  when  all  of  the  past  will 
be  forgotten,  except  its  friendships  and  its 
glories.  This  consummation,  so  devoutly 
wished  for,  will  never  transpire  until  the  Amer- 
ican people  shall  be  brought  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  truth  as  it  is  taught  in  the  Farewell  Ad- 
dress  of  Washington.  When  that  day  comes, 
as  1  trust  it  may,  the  glory  attending  the  Re- 
public will  compensate  for  the  struggles,  the 
sacrifices  of  the  present,  arid  vouchsafe  to  us 
a  country  in  which  every  freeman  may  delight 
to  live,  and  for  the  preservation  of  which,  if 
need  be,  he  may  be  proud  to  die. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  do  not  purpose  now  to 
argue  the  merits  of  the  proposition  at  length 
at  all.  I  simply  rise  more  for  the  purpose  of 
correcting  an  impression  that  may  go  forth 
from  the  speech  of  the  gentleman  from  Pettis, 
(Mr.  Phillips.)  The  gentleman,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  his  speech,  charges  that  certain 
gentlemen  have  made  great  changes,  and,  among 
others,  that  I  have  made  a  great  change  in  my 
position.  I  do  not  think,  sir,  that  the  record 
will  bear  the  gentleman  out  in  the  assertion  he 
has  made.  It  is  well  known  that  when  I  intro 
duced,,  as  chairman  of  the  committee,  the  firs1 
ordinance,  that  I  introduced  with  it  the  ninth 
section ;  and  that  a  distinguished  Senator  of  the 
United  States,  (Mr.  Henderson,)  in  his  argu- 
ment before  the  House,  declared  that  the  ninth 
section  was  equivalent  to  the  amendment  of  the 


150 


gentleman  from  Greene-  Hence,  believing  the 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Greene  more 
practicable,  and  more  apt  to  do  justice,  and 
more  simple  in  its  operation,  I  gave  it  my  sup- 
port; and  in  that  vote  I  believe  I  had  the  con- 
currence of  the  gentleman  from  Pettis,  as  he 
then  voted  with  me.  I  do  not,  therefore,  deem 
it  fair  or  just  for  the  gentleman  to  make  m* 
cover  his  retreat  from  the  support  of  that 
amendment. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS.  I  will  state  that  I  gave  my 
reason  for  supporting  the  amendment.  I  gave 
it  my  support  because  it  took  effect  after  the 
17th  of  December,  and  thereby  enabled  the 
Convention  to  preserve  its  consistency;  whereas, 
there  was  no  consistency  in  your  proposition, 
inasmuch  as  you  went  back  to  the  1st  day  of 
August. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  am  aware  the  gentleman 
has  a  perfect  right  to  change  his  opinion,  and 
I  will  not  reproach  him  for  it.  It  is  a  good 
man  who  will  change  his  opinion  when  he  is  in 
the  wrong.  I  find  the  gentleman  here,  the 
other  day,  voting  with  me  for  the  amendment 
of  the  gentleman  from  Greene,  which  was  not 
retrospective  as  to  voters.  The  gentleman 
comes  here  now  and  advocates  a  retrospective 
test.  I  do  not  reproach  the  gfntleman  for 
changing  his  opinion,  but  I  object — as  he 
lives  in  a  glass  house — to  his  throwing  stones 
at  me. 

Mr  PHILLIPS.  I  hope  the  gentleman  will 
find  some  consolation  for  his  predicament. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  Not  at  all.  I  tell  you  my 
course  has  been  entirely  consistent,  and  that  I 
nave  made  no  change  whatever.  Another 
thing  I  desire  to  notice  is  this  :  The  gentleman 
from  Pettis,  under  a  great  flourish  of  trumpets, 
introduced  the  statutes  of  the  great  and  glorious 
old  State  of  Kentucky,  and  tried  to  have  us 
believe  we  must  follow  her  footsteps.  I  have 
read  the  statutes  of  that  State,  and  I  do  not  find 
a  single  line  to  justify  retrospective  action  in 
respect  to  rebellion.  The  cases  which  the 
gentleman  cited  are  not  retrospective  at  all. 
The  gentleman  draws  consolation  from  the  fact 
that,  in  the  first  ordinance,  it  was  declared  that 
no  person  should  be  allowed  to  vote  who  had 
given  aid,  taken  up  arms,  or  given  countenance 
or  assistance  to  the  rebellion;  and  that  the 
advantage  which  the  amendment  of  the  gentle- 
man from  St.  Louis  has  over  that  is,  that  it 
declares  only  those  shall  be  disfranchised  who 
took  up  arms,  and  levied  war,  after  the  17th 
day  of  December.  Why,  these  terms  "  levied 
war J>  have  the  same  significance  as  the  terms 


"given  aid  and  comfort,"  &c.,  in  the  first  section 
of  the  first  ordinance.  All  those  that  are  in  the 
conspiracy,  and  have  given  aid,  assistance,  and 
encouragement  to  it,  have  levied  war.  That  is 
the  legal  acceptation  of  these  terms.  Does 
anybody  suppose  that  a  man  was  ever  convicted 
of  a  crime  that  he  did  not  intentionally  com- 
mit? I  say  the  1st  section  of  the  ordinance,  as 
originally  introduced  —  the  first  ordinance  is 
substantially  the  same  as  the  amendment  of  the 
gentleman  from  St.  Louis  ;  the  only  substantial 
difference  between  them  being  that  the  first 
section  related  to  all  those  who  had  taken  up 
arms,  while  the  amendment  relates  only  to  those 
who  have  done  so  since  the  17th  of  December 
last. 

Mr.  DUNN.  Mr.  President,  we  all  agree 
that  the  object  to  be  sought  by  the  Convention 
is  the  restoration  of  peace,  and  that  the  only 
means  by  which  this  can  be  done  is  by  securing 
obedience  to  the  Constitution  and  laws.  Mis- 
souri is  a  State  in  the  Union.  We  are  citizens 
of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri; and  we  owe  allegiance  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  to  the  extent  of  the 
powers  conferred  upon  that  Government  by 
the  Constitution  ;  and  we  owe  allegiance  to  the 
Government  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  to  the 
extent  of  the  powers  belonging  to  the  State 
Government.  Indeed,  they  are  part  and  parcel 
of  one  Government.  One  is  the  complement 
of  the  other ;  and  the  destruction  of  either 
would  result  in  the  overthrow  of  civil  liberty. 
Our  stern  duty,  therefore,  is  to  preserve  both. 

The  Convention,  at  its  first  session,  solemnly 
resolved  that  there  was  no  sufficient  cause  to 
impel  Missouri  to  dissolve  her  relations  with 
the  Government  of  the  United  States.  The 
events  that  have  since  transpired  have  demon- 
strated the  wisdom  of  this  decision  of  the 
Convention  ;  and  if  all  the  people  of  the  State 
had  yielded  a  cheerful  acquiescence  in  the 
decision  of  the  Convention,  Missouri  would 
have  been  preserved  from  the  ravages  of  war; 
and  if  the  people  of  the  United  States  had  acted 
upon  the  spirit  of  compromise  recommended 
by  the  Convention,  the  Union  would  have  been 
preserved  without  the  shedding  of  fraternal 
blood.  But  our  conservative  counsels  were 
drowned  by  the  clash  of  arms ;  and  some  of  the 
fairest  portions  of  our  State  have  been  desola- 
ted ;  and  the  war  is  still  raging  with  unmitigated 
fury  in  other  portions  of  the  Union. 

I  said  on  a  former  occasion,  and  I  repeat  it 
to-day,  that  we  are  as  much  bound  by  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Constitution  in  revolutionary 


151 


times,  and  in  the  midst  of  civil  war,  as  in  times 
of  peace.  All  of  our  troubles  have  grown  out 
of  a  departure  from  the  principles  of  the  Con- 
stitution. Secessionism  and  political  abolition- 
ism, the  parent  of  secessionism,  are  at  war  with 
the  Constitution ;  and  the  coi.tinued  existence 
of  our  Government  depends  upon  the  triumph 
of  the  friends  of  the  Constitution  over  both. 
Our  Government  has  more  than  a  half  a  million 
of  soldiers  in  the  field,  for  the  avowed  purpose 
of  vindicating  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitu- 
tion against  those  in  rebellion ;  and  we  can 
best  perform  our  part  in  the  great  work  of 
restoring  the  Union  and  the  peace  of  our  State, 
by  observing  the  established  principles  of  the 
Constitution. 

If  asked  why  ours  is  the  best  Government 
ever  devised  by  the  wisdom  of  man,  my  answer 
is,  "  because  the  Constitution  is  an  embodiment 
of  the  accumulated  political  wisdom  of  all  past 
ages,  and  secures,  in  the  amplest  manner  pos- 
sible, all  the  cardinal  principles  of  civil  lib- 
erty." If  the  people  of  our  State  were  living 
in  obedience  to  the  requirements  of  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  State  of 
Missouri,  and  all  existing  laws,  peace  would 
reign  throughout  her  borders ;  and  I  believe 
that  a  controlling  majority  of  the  people  of  the 
State  are  ready  to  do  so.  The  destiny  of  Mis- 
souri is  irrevocably  fixed  in  the  Union ;  a  con- 
viction of  this  fact  pervades  the  minds  of  the 
people.  The  war  has  ended  in  the  State,  and 
it  only  remains  for  the  State  Militia  to  keep 
down  guerrillas,  jayhawkers,  and  marauders. 

Entertaining  these  views,  I  am  opposed  to 
the  postponement  of  the  elections.  I  believe 
that  a  free  election,  instead  of  causing  a  re- 
newal of  strife,  as  apprehended  by  some,  will 
have  a  tranquilizing  effect.  Let  the  elections 
take  place  ;  and  let  the  elections  be,  as  provided 
in  the  Constitution,  "free  and  equal."  I  am 
opposed  to  the  disfranchisement  of  any  class  of 
bonafide  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of 
the  State  of  Missouri,  who  have  the  requisite 
qualifications  as  to  age  and  residence. 

According  to  the  Constitution,  every  officer 
is  required,  before  entering  upon  the  discharge 
of  his  duties,  to  take  an  oath  to  support  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  and  to  faithfully  demean 
himself  in  office;  and  the  Convention,  at  its 
last  session,  adopted  an  ordinance  requiring  all 
officers  to  swear  that  they  would  support  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
State  of  Missouri;  and  that  they  would  not 
take  up  arms  against  the  Government  of  the 


United  States,  or  the  Provisional  Government 
of  the  State  of  Missouri,  nor  give  aid  or  com- 
fort to  the  enemies  of  either,  during  the  present 
civil  war.  This  oath  did  but  little  more  than 
express  in  words  what  was  already  implied  in 
the  old  official  oath.  The  Goveinor  in  his 
message,  and  the  Lieutenant  Governor  in  a 
speech  in  the  Convention,  have  commended  the 
practical  workings  of  the  ordinance  requiring 
this  oath ;  and  yet  a  new  official  oath,  retro- 
spective in  its  character,  has  been  proposed. 
If  the  Convention  desires  to  make  additional 
provisions  of  a  prospective  character  for 
securing  in  all  officers  fidelity  to  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  State  of 
Missouri,  and  a  full  recognition  of  their 
allegiance  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  I  will 
give  my  support  to  whatever  measures  may  be 
necessary  to  accomplish  this  purpose.  I  can- 
not, however,  support  any  measure  of  a  retro- 
spective character,  and  I  accordingly  voted  in 
favor  of  the  amendment  of  my  colleague  from 
Clinton  (Judge  Birch)  to  strike  out  the  retro- 
spective features  in  the  oath  required  by  the 
ordinance  pending  before  the  Convention 
proscribing  a  new  official  oath.  We  permit 
foreigners  from  every  country,  upon  being 
naturalized — upon  their  renouncing  their  alle- 
giance to  their  old  Government  and  taking  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  our  Government — to  hold 
office  and  to  vote;  and  we  ought  to  permit  native- 
born  citizens  of  the  United  States,  who  may 
for  a  time  have  departed  from  their  allegiance, 
to  renew  their  allegiance  and  to  be  restored  to 
all  the  rights  of  citizenship,  and  among  these 
the  right  to  hold  office  and  vote. 

I  would  have  preferred  a  strong  prospective 
oath  for  officers,  leaving  the  voters  untram- 
melled; hut  as  it  is  evident  that  the  Conventipn 
will  require  voters  as  well  as  officers  to  be 
sworn,  I  prefer,  among  all  the  pending  propo- 
sitions, a  simple  prospective  oath  for  voters. 
The  one  required  in  the  second  report  of  the 
committee  is  plain  and  effective,  and  will  carry 
out  the  spiiit  of  the  Constitution  by  allowing 
all,  who  are  at  heart  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  the  right  to  vote  if  they  have  the  requi- 
site qualifications  as  to  age  and  residence;  and 
it  will  debar  from  voting  all  who  are  not  willing 
to  renew  their  allegiance  to  the  Government. 
This  oath  binds  the  voter  to  support  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State 
of  Missouri,  and  to  bear  true  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  and  to  the  State  of  Missouri, 
and  not  to  take  up  arms  against  either,  or  give 


152 


aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  either.  But 
as  the  Convention,  at  its  present  session,  will 
require  a  stronger  oath  than  this  of  all  officers, 
I  see  no  necessity  to  require  any  such  oath  of 
voters,  as  the  allegiance  of  all  the  officers  to 
the  Government  will  be  secured  as  far  as  it  is 
possible  for  any  oath  to  secure  their  allegiance. 
I  am  opposed  to  retrospective  oaths  as  to 
either  voters  or  officers.  Our  State  Constitu- 
tion prohibits  the  passage  of  ex  post  facto 
laws  and  laws  retrospective  in  their  operation. 
And  while  I  do  not  insist  that  this  will  pre- 
clude the  Convention  from  adopting  whatever 
oath  may  be  deemed  proper,  yet  I  regard  it  as 
unwise  to  make  our  ordinances  operate  retro- 
spectively, even  if,  as  claimed  by  the  gentle- 
man from  St.  Louis  (Mr.  Breckinridge),  we 
have  the  power  to  do  whatever  the  safety  of 
the  State  may  require.  Retrospective  legisla- 
tion is  inherently  wrong.  The  plainest  prin- 
ciples of  justice  require  that  a  law  should  be 
enacted  and  promulgated  before  any  act  for- 
bidden by  it  should  be  visited  by  any  penalty 
or  disqualification  that  did  not  attach  to  the 
act  at  the  time  of  its  commission.  Law  being 
a  rule  of  action  designed  to  regulate  the  con- 
duct of  those  within  the  sphere  of  its  opera- 
tion, the  attempt  to  make  it  operate  upon  acts 
that  took  place  before  the  law  had  an  exist- 
ence is  absdrd. 

But  does  the  safety  of  the  State  require  the 
disfranchisement  of  all  that  have  been  engaged 
in  the  rebellion  ?  This  can  only  be  true  upon 
the  supposition  that  the  loyal  citizens  of  the 
State  are  in  a  minority  in  the  State.  What- 
ever may  be  true  in  regard  to  some  localities 
in  the  State,  I  am  satisfied  that  a  large  majority 
of  the  people  of  the  State  are  desirous  of  an 
opportunity  to  prove,  by  their  votes,  that  they 
are  opposed  to  any  change  in  the  Federal  re- 
lations of  the  State.  Many  of  those  who  at 
one  time  desired  to  take  Missouri  out  of  the 
Union,  are  convinced  now  that  duty  and  inter- 
est, and  the  dictates  of  patriotism,  demand 
that  our  State  should  remain  in  the  Union. 
And  if  we  will  but  consider  the  effect  of  the 
disfranchisement  of  a  large  portion  of  the  free 
white  male  citizens  of  the  State — the  disfran- 
chisement of  all  who  were  engaged  in  the  re- 
bellion, or  who  gave  aid,  comfort,  or  counte- 
nance to  the  rebellion,  as  insisted  upon  by 
some,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  safety  of  the  State 
forbids  their  disfranchisement.  Aside  from 
the  danger  that  might  arise  from  a  class  thus 
forced  into  hostility  to  those  who  have  disfran- 
chised them,  we  would  find  ourselves  in  the  at- 


titude of  violating  a  great  principle  upon  which 
our  forefathers  fought  in  the  revolution.  We 
would  be  taxing  those  that  are  not  represent- 
ed. I  make  no  objection  to  the  total  exclusion 
from  the  polls  of  all  persons  convicted  of  in- 
famous crimes.  But  to  tax  citizens  of  the 
United  States  who  are  not  thus  convicted,  and 
who  recognize  their  allegiance  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  of 
Missouri,  without  allowing  them  the  right  to 
vote,  will  be  taxation  without  representation.  It 
is  no  sufficient  justification  of  this  exclusion  to 
say  that  such  persons  embraced  for  a  time  the 
heresy  of  secession  and  attempted  to  put  it  into 
practical  effect,  if  they  are  now  willing  to  re- 
new their  allegiance  to  the  Government.  I  am 
not  willing  to  vote  for  an  ordinance  of  the 
Convention  which  will  preclude  those  who 
wish  to  retrieve  their  errors  from  an  opportu- 
nity to  do  so.  The  President  of  the  United 
States,  our  General?,  and  this  Convention  at 
its  previous  sessions,  have  invited  those  in  re- 
bellion to  lay  down  their  arms  and  renew  their 
allegiance  to  the  Government,  promising  to  all 
who  would  do  so  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  their 
rights  under  the  Constitution.  We  cannot, 
therefore,  without  reversing  this  wise  and  hu- 
mane policy,  exclude  those  who  in  good  faith 
have  accepted  these  invitations  and  renewed 
their  allegiance  to  the  Government,  from  voting 
or  holding  office.  Let  us  remember,  while  we 
congratulate  ourselves  upon  having  kept  our 
allegiance  to  our  Government,  that  we  were 
all  once  in  rebellion  against  the  best  Govern- 
ment in  the  universe — the  Government  of  the 
Creator  of  all  things.  And  if  in  the  Day  of 
Judgment  the  test  be  applied  to  us,  requiring 
us  to  have  been  loyal  to  the  Government  »f  the 
King  of  kings  during  all  stages  of  the  rebel- 
lion against  it,  we  will  be  condemned.  I  am  not 
willing  to  apply  to  my  fellow-citizens  a  rule 
which,  if  applied  to  me,  would  exclude  me  from 
Heaven.  I  prefer  to  act  upon  the  golden  rule, 
"  As  you  would  that  all  men  should  do  unto 
you,  do  ye  so  unto  them." 

Some  favor  the  postponement  of  the  elections 
from  an  apprehension  that  the  secessionists 
will  get  control  of  the  State ;  and  others  favor 
the  postponement  fearing  that  the  abolitionists 
will  carry  the  elections.  A  sufficient  answer 
to  such  objections  is,  that  the  friends  of  the 
Constitution  and  the  Union  will  triumph  over 
both. 

But  two  departments  of  our  State  Govern- 
ment are  now  in  actual  existence — the  Execu- 
tive and  Judicial  Departments.  The  Legisla- 


153 


live  Department  exists  only  in  theory,  and,  if 
\v-  postpone  all  elections,  we  will  be  left 
without  any  Legislative  department  during  the 
period  of  such  postponement.  We  are  left  to 
choose  between  the  election  of  a  Legislature 
by  the  people,  or  the  discharge  by  the  Conven- 
tion of  the  functions  of  the  Legislature.  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  preferring  the  election  of 
the  Legislature  by  the  people,  so  that  all  the 
departments  of  our  State  Government  may  be 
restored  to  their  full  vigor.  This  course  of 
policy  will,  in  my  judgment,  conduce  to  the 
restoration  of  peace,  by  securing  obedience  to 
the  Constitution  and  laws. 

The  question  being  on  the  adoption  of  the 
amendment  to  the  amendment  proposed  by 
Mr.  Shanklin,  the  yeas  and  nays  were  demand- 
ed, and  the  vote  resulted  :  ayes  32,  nays  37. 

So  the  amendment  to  the  amendment  was 
lost. 

Mr.  ORR  moved  to  amend  by  adding,  "that 
all  persons  who  had  stolen,  or  impressed  pro- 
perty contrary  to  law,  since  the  17th  of  De- 
cember, should  be  excluded  from  voting." 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  hope  the  gentleman 
will  withdraw  his  amendment.  I  am  unwilling 
to  believe  the  gentleman  from  Greene  simply 
desires  to  hinder  the  action  of  the  Convention. 
After  a  long  debate  we  have  now  about  arrived 
at  a  conclusion,  and  I  hope  the  gentleman  will 
withdraw  his  proposition  to  amend  and  let  us 
settle  this  matter. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  hope  the  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis  will  not  deem  it  unkind  in  me  in  differ- 
ing with  him  as  to  the  propriety  of  urging  this 
measure.  If  we  have  spent  the  whole  day  in 
trying  to  come  to  a  conclusion,  I  want  the 
Convention  to  put  this  on  record  ;  if  they  want 
one  class  of  individuals  to  be  prevented  from 
voting,  I  want  them  to  say  whether  they  are 
willing  to  have  those  who  have  stolen  property 
shall  be  allowed  to  vote  side  by  side  with  me. 
That  is  all  I  desire.  I  do  not  wish  to  be, 
neither  will  I  be  deterred  from  doing  what  I 
consider  to  be  right.  If  the  Convention  will 
allow  me,  I  will  say  that  I  was  about  the  first 
man  who  had  courage  enough  to  take  a  posi- 
tion in  that  desk  and  oppose  this  thing  that  has 
been  rushed  upon  us,  and  I  am  not  afraid  to 
do  what  I  believe  to  be  right.  I  have  seen  men 
driving  stolen  cattle  from  the  country,  and  I 
do  not  wish  to  be  degraded  by  going  to  the 
polls  and  voting  with  such  men. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  it  is  proper  to  exclude  from  the  elective 
franchise  men  who  have  violated  the  common 


law  of  the  State.  The  friends  of  the  amend- 
ment of  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  do  not 
wish  to  let  thieves  and  murderers  go  unpunish- 
ed, but  they  leave  the  common  law  to  deal 
with  them  ;  they  have  no  amnesty  for  their 
offences.  But  it  is  otherwise  with  the  men  upon 
whom  this  amendment  operates;  they  have  had 
amnesty  for  their  offences.  The  amendment  of 
the  gentleman  from  Greene  would  give  peifect 
indemnity  to  one  class,  and  I  shall  therefore 
vote  against  it. 

Mr.  SHANKHN.  I  dislike  on  this  occasion, 
as  upon  any  other,  to  detain  the  Convention 
with  any  remarks,  but  I  feel  it  is  my  duty  to 
present  the  reasons  which  will  actuate  me  in 
my  vote  upon  the  proposition  now  pending.  I 
hear  gentlemen  talk  a  great  deal  about  test 
votes.  Now,  I  am  new  in  this  body  and  in 
all  parliamentary  bodies.  I  vote  on  each  pro- 
position, as  presented  at  the  time,  in  the  way 
Ideem  proper  and  correct.  The  discussion 
of  this  question  has  taken  a  wide  range,  and  a 
range  that  I,  for  my  part,  very  much  regret. 
This,  sir,  is  a  very  simple  and  plain  proposi- 
tion. I  left  my  home  and  came  here  fully  be- 
lieving that  it  would  be  proper  and  right  to 
pass  some  such  measure  as  is  contemplated  in 
the  first  section  here.  I  do  not  favor  a  propo- 
sition of  this  kind,  sir,  from  vindictive  motives 
to  those  who  have  taken  up  arms.  I  favored 
a  project  of  this  kind  before,  and  since  I  came 
here,  because  I  believed  it  was  necessary  for 
the  best  interests  of  the  State.  After  I  caine 
here  and  discussed  this  matter  in  the  light  be- 
fore me,  I  had  my  doubts  as  to  the  constitu- 
tionality of  a  retrospective  law,  and  the  othet 
day,  you  remember  when  we  came  to  vote  on 
Mr.  Orr's  amendment,  I  stated  the  reasons 
which  actuated  my  vote  ;  and  the  reasons  were, 
that  the  whole  section  was  objectionable.  I 
did  not  think  there  was  anything  practicable 
in  it.  I  did  not  regard  it  as  a  test  vote,  but  I 
see  it  has  been  given  out  and  is  so  considered. 
As  I  before  remarked,  I  had  some  doubts  as 
to  the  constitutionality  of  a  retrospective  law. 
This  morning,  when  the  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis  introduced  his  amendment,  I  still  had 
some  doubts  as  to  the  constitutionality  of  a 
retrospective  law.  I,  therefore,  introduced  an 
amendment  in  good  faith,  simply  to  ease  my 
own  conscience  and  to  bring  the  matter  within 
what  I  believed  to  be  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  In  my  judg- 
ment, it  is  not  in  the  province  of  this  Conven- 
tion to  punish  those  who  have  been  in  arms 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 


154 


because  the  laws  of  the  country  will  do  that. 
But;  it  is  the  peculiar  province  of  the  Conven- 
tion to  throw  guards  around  the  ballot-box. 
This,  I  understood,  is  what  it  is  proposed  to 
do,  and  the  authorities  read  by  the  distinguish- 
ed gentleman,  this  morning,  were  entirely  sa- 
tisfactory to  me  in  this  respect.  I  am  willing, 
and  I  shall  now  vote  for  the  amendment  of  t';e 
gentleman  from  St.  Louis,  for  the  reason  lhat 
it  is  within  our  province  to  throw  guards 
around  the  ballot-box,  and  that  is  necessary 
for  the  safety  of  the  State  for  us  to  do  so. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  entertain  the  highest  respect 
for  the  gentleman  from  Greene  (Mr.  Orr),  his 
patriotism,  wisdom,  and  good  sense  in  all 
things.  No  man  in  this  Convention  desires  to 
endorse  thieves  and  robbers,  even  indirectly, 
and  really  it  does  not  seem  to  me  that  this  Con- 
vention has  taken  charge  of  the  morals  of  the 
people  of  Missouri.  I  do  not  think  this  pro- 
position has  anything  to  do  with  the  question 
we  are  desiring  to  settle,  and  I  hope  the  gen- 
tleman will  withdraw  it.  I  really  think,  to 
say  the  least  of  it,  that  it  is  undignified  and 
unworthy  the  consideration  of  a  deliberative 
body.  I  say  it  in  all  kindness  because  I  feel 
it. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  demanded,  and  the 
vote  resulted  :  yeas  8,  nays  57. 

So  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Orr  was  lost. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK  offered  an  amendment  to  the 
amendment,  providing  that  persons  claiming 
to  have  engaged  in  the  rebellion  through  du- 
ress, supposed  obligations  of  duty,  or  fraudu- 
lent representations,  might  file  an  oath  abjur- 
ing all  attachment  to  the  rebel  Government 
and  pledging  themselves  to  bear  true  faith  and 
allegiance  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  be  allowed  to  vote.  The  terms  of 
the  oath  he  proposed  required  them  to  swear 
that  they  had  been  in  error,  &c. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  I  have  just  voted  agains, 
the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Grundy, 
because  there  is  no  principle  in  it.  There  is 
no  justice  in  disfranchising  a  man  who  returns 
to-morrow  from  the  rebel  ai  my,  and  yet  allow 
the  man  who  returns  to-day  the  right  of  suf- 
frage. The  Convention  has  issued  no  procla- 
mation notifying  rebels  that  all  will  be  dis-- 
franchised  who  fail  to  lay  down  their  arms 
before  the  10th  day  of  June.  It  is,  then,  a 
mere  matter  of  accident  as  to  who  will  be  dis- 
franchised by  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman 
from  Grundy.  Justice  and  principle  are  not 
invoked  in  determining  the  matter.  I  am  in 
favor  of  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from 


St.  Louis,  provided  the  amendment  I  have  just 
offered  can  be  added  to  it.  If  this  ordinance 
should  be  retrospective  at  all  as  to  voters,  there 
is  no  time  from  which  the  ordinance  could 
more  properly  take  effect  than  from  the  17th 
of  December — the  date  of  the  expiration  of  the 
amnesty  granted  by  the  Convention.  As  the 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis 
stands,  however,  I  am  opposed  to  it.  It  em- 
braces  all  men  who  have  returned  from  the 
rebel  army  since  the  17th  of  December,  in  one 
wide,  sweeping  clause  of  disfranchisement.  It 
makes  no  distinction  between  the  innocent  and 
the  guilty — between  deceived  and  repentant 
rebels  and  rebels  from  choice,  who  merely 
submitted  to  the  laws  from  necessity.  There 
is  no  doubt  but  that  there  are  hundreds  of  men 
in  Missouri  who  have  taken  up  arms  through 
duress,  supposed  obligation  of  duty,  or  fraudu- 
lent representations,  who  are. thoroughly  re- 
pentant, and  who  would  be  proud  to  exhibit 
the  fact  by  taking  advantage  of  my  amendment 
and  filing  their  oath  to  that  effect  in  the  office 
of  the  County  Clerk.  I  have  several  men  in 
my  regiment,  among  my  best  soldiers,  who 
would  be  disfranchised  by  the  amendment  of 
the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis.  There  are 
several  returned  rebels  in  the  Twenty-third 
Missouri  Volunteers  who  did  good  service  upon 
the  bloody  field  of  Shiloh.  I  merely  mention 
these  instances  to  show  that  our  proposed  ac- 
tion would  be  very  unjust.  There  are  hun- 
dreds of  such  cases  all  over  the  State.  Such 
men  ought  not  to  be  disfranchised.  They 
would  be  proud  to  signify  their  repentance  by 
taking  the  oath  prescribed  by  my  amendment. 
No  unrepentant  rebel  would  take  that  oath, 
for  he  would  feel  degraded  by  it.  My  amend- 
ment would  do  no  harm,  but  merely  make  a 
proper  discrimination.  Justice  should  be  tem- 
pered with  mercy.  God  himself  has  set  us  a 
proper  example.  When  our  first  parents  had 
fallen  from  duty — like  the  secessionists — He 
did  not  doom  the  whole  human  family  without 
discrimination.  He  provided  means  by  which 
they  might  still  be  saved— by  repentance  and  a 
change  of  life.  Let  us  do  likewise.  You  offer 
no  encouragement  to  the  repentant  rebel  unless 
you  adopt  my  amendment.  You  send  him  forth 
into  the  wide,  wide  world,  a  disfranchised 
slave,  with  the  brand  of  Cain  upon  his  brow, 
and  with  no  rainbow7  of  hope  to  gild  the  dark- 
ened sky  beyond.  I  am  desirous  to  see  the 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis 
passed  together  with  my  amendment.  One 
would  flash  before  the  polls  like  a  flaming 


155 


sword,  while  the  other  would  extend  the  olive 
branch  of  peace.  In  five  years,  if  both  remain 
in  force,  every  returned  rebel  will  either  have 
fled  abashed  from  the  State  or  will  have  taken 
advantage  of  my  amendment,  and  proudly 
point  to  the  fact  as  an  evidence  of  his  loyalty. 
In  this  \v-\y  peace  will  be  restored  to  every  part 
of  Missouri,  and  her  people  will  all  be  free. 

Mr.  AI.I.KX.  It  seems  that  the  gentleman 
thinks  that,  unless  we  adopt  his  amendment, 
we  are  denying  the  right  of  repentance  to  these 
rebels.  I  am  willing  to  let  them  repent,  and 
to  give  them  a  good  long  time  to  do  it.  The 
General  Assembly  can  repeal  this  section  any 
time  they  see  proper.  Sir,  when  I  think  of  the 
conduct  of  men  in  this  country,  who,  with  the 
light  and  knowledge  they  have  had  with  refer- 
ence to  these  great  subjects,  have  persisted  in 
their  efforts  to  break  up  the  Government,  and 
have  met  their  neighbors  upon  the  battle-field, 
and  have  imbued  their  hands  in  blood ;  when 
I  think  of  our  brave  men — Tindell  and  a  host 
of  others,  who  fell  by  the  hands  of  the  enemies 
of  their  country — I  am  not  disposed,  just  yet, 
to  receive  these  men  back  again,  and  grant 
them  all  the  immunities  of  this  Government. 
I  want  them  to  repent,  and  while  they  are  re- 
penting, I  want  them  to  see  the  result  of  their 
acts. 

Mr.  LEEPER.  My  friend.  Mr.  Woolfolk 
spoke  of  some  of  these  repenting  men  return- 
ing home  and  joining  the  army.  I  wish  to 
state  a  little  incident  to  illustrate  the  confidence 
I  have  in  their  repentance.  I  was  at  one  time 
engaged  in  the  recruiting  business,  and  I  en- 
listed four  men  that  came  back  as  repentant 
rebels.  They  were  very  sorry,  and  were  glad 
to  be  enlisted  in  the  United  States  service. 
Each  of  them  obtained  a  good  outfit — a  good 
horse  and  a  Government  saddle — and  all  of 
them  shortly  afterwards  deserted  and  went 
back  to  Dixie,  taking  with  them  the  Govern- 
ment horses  and  saddles. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  By  whose  author- 
ity did  you  enlist  them  ? 

Mr.  LI;I:I'[;K.  By  the  authority  of  the  com- 
mander of  the  post. 

Mr.  HALL.     It  was  contrary  to  law. 

Mr.  LKI:I'KR.  This  is  the  experience  I  have, 
and  this  is  the  confidence  I  have  in  their  re- 
pentance and  their  loyalty.  These  men  took 
the  oath  prescribed  for  soldiers. 

Mr.  HA LL  of  Buchanan.  Under  the  amend- 
ment of  the  gentleman  from  Livingston,  a  man 
might  stay  in  the  rebel  army  until  the  war  was 
over — for  ten  years  if  it  should  last  so  long — 


and  then  come  and  swear  he  had  been  deceiv- 
ed and  duped  into  the  rebellion;  that  he  had 
been  misled  and  mistaken,  and  thereupon  be 
received  back  into  the  full  rights  of  citizenship. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  This  amendment  of  the  gentle- 
man from  St.  Louis  however  intended,  will  cut 
off  all  immigration  for  all  time  from  the  South- 
ern States,  because,  unless  they  swear  they 
have  not  been  in  rebellion  since  the  17th  of 
December,  1861,  they  can  never  come  to  Mis- 
souri. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  Unless  the  Legis- 
lature permits  them. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  A  Legislature  elected  under 
this  restriction  will  never  remove  the  restric- 
tion. I  am  certain,  if  this  amendment  is  incor- 
porated into  the  law  of  the  State,  it  will  be  per- 
petual. They  will  only  elect  men  of  like  mind, 
who  will  shut  the  gates  of  Southern  immigra- 
tion forever.  Sir,  I  happen  to  know  a  few  men 
in  Virginia  who  went  into  this  rebellion  reluc- 
tantly. I  know  a  gentleman  who  made  the 
last  Union  speech  in  the  Convention  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  stood  by  the  old  flag  in  Virginia 
until  the  last,  and  there  are  thousands  of  just 
such  men  —  men  with  Southern  feelings  — 
States  Bights  men, — all  through  the  South, 
who  clung  to  the  old  flag  to  the  very  last  mo- 
ment. I  need  not  explain  how  it  is  with  a  Vir- 
ginian— how  he  goes  as  his  State  goes.  But 
this  amendment  would  cut  off  the  immigration 
of  these  men  forever.  It  would  allow  only 
Northern  immigration,  and  if  there  were  no 
other  objection,  I  would  vote  against  it  on  that 
ground.  What  is  man  without  hope  ?  Life 
without  hope  has  no  charms  ;  and  yet,  not  the 
slightest  hope  is  held  out  by  us  to  these  men, 
who  are  to  be  proscribed  by  this  ordinance.  I 
remember,  in  the  play  of  Bertram,  how  one  of 
the  characters  exclaims,  in  the  bitterness  of  de- 
spair, "  Ah  me  !  /  have  no  country  !  "  That  is 
the  condition  in  which  we  will  place  the  men 
who  will  come  under  the  provisions  of  this  or- 
dinance. They  will  have  no  country!  When 
Edwin  Price  appeared  before  Gen.  Halleck  a 
prisoner  of  war,  the  General  saw  that,  beneath 
the  rough  garb  of  the  soldier,  there  beat  the 
heart  of  one  of  nature's  noblemen,  and,  as  I 
have  said,  he  restored  to  him  his  sword  and  his 
war  horse,  and  sent  him  home ;  but  you  would 
say  to  this  man,  "  You  shall  never  vote."  And 
you  would  say  to  the  three  thousand  men  whom 
the  Democrat  says  have  returned  to  one  coun- 
ty, "You  shall  never  vote;"  but  you  say  to 
the  men  of  the  North — pardon  the  allusion,  I 
have  to  make  it, — you  say  to  Giddings,  Sum- 


156 


tier,  Hale,  and  such  men  as  they,  who  are  re- 
sponsible for  all  this — who  are  the  original  authors 
rf  it — "  Come  here  and  vote."  I  apologize, 
Mr.  President.  [Laughter.] 

The  question  being  on  the  adoption  of  Mr. 
Woolfolk's  amendment,  it  was  lost  by  a  large 
vote. 

Mr.  Marmaduke  moved  to  adjourn.     Lost. 

Mr.  Birch  moved  a  call  of  the  house.  Agreed 
to,  and  67  members  answered. 

Further  proceedings  under  the  call  being 
dispensed  with,  the  ayes  and  noes  were  taken 
on  the  adoption  of  Mr.  Breckinridge's  amend- 
ment. The  vote  resulted,  yeas  35,  nays  31. 

So  the  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Breckin- 
ridge  was  adopted. 

.The  question  being  now  on  the  first  section 
of  the  ordinance  as  amended,  it  was  passed. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS  moved  to  reconsider  the  vote, 
and  to  lay  that  motion  on  the  table.  Agreed 
to. 

Mr.  Stewart,  from  the  Committee  on  the 
Militia,  submitted  the  following : 

Resolved,  That  the  rebellion  has  practically 
killed  the  institution  of  slavery  in  this  State, 
and  the  rebels  are  responsible  for  it.  In  their 
foolish  or  criminal  desire  to  make  the  negro 
question  the  paramount  one,  overlooking  all  other 
questions,  they  have  inaugurated  the  most  trc 
mendous,  unholy  and  uncalled  for  revolution 
which  the  pages  of  history  have  ever  recorded 
or  perhaps  ever  will  record.  Having  brought 
destruction  upon  their  pet  institution,  these 


conspirators  cannot  charge  it  upon  any  other 
nterest  whatever. 

Though  it  is  to  be  admitted  that  there  is,  ac- 
cording to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
he  right  to  hold  all  kinds  of  property,  still 
there  is  no  right  recognized,  either  by  the  Con- 
stitution or  by  common  sense,  reason  or  patri- 
otism, to  justify  any  set  of  demagogues  to  tear 
down  the  National  flag  and  substitute  a  rebel 
rag.  Our  Government  is  predicated  upon  the 
rand  idea  that  though  nations  differ  as  to  the 
policy  of  national  matters,  yet  in  the  United 
States  all  citizens  from  other  nations,  upon 
taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  this  sovereign- 
ty, become,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  citizens 
of  the  United  States. 

A  few  men,  entertaining  the  opinion  that  be- 
cause they  had  owned  the  African,  they  had 
the  right  to  own  all  the  laboring  classes  of  their 
own  color,  in  consequence  of  the  fact  that  they 
did  not  happen  to  be  born  in  their  own  neigh- 
borhood ;  these  same  demagogues  attempted  to 
build  up  a  new  government,  for  the  purpose  of 
using  all  the  benefits  of  American  civilization 
for  the  benefit  of  themselves  and  their  children. 
It  is  believed  that  if  the  institution  of  slavery 
could  be  dispensed  with  upon  terms  of  equal 
justice  to  all,  the  State  would  be  benefitted  by 
such  action.  Divested  of  all  prejudice,  the 
question  of  slavery  in  this  State  is  a  proper 
one  for  the  mature  deliberation  of  all  classes, 
and  more  particularly  ior  the  slave  owner  him- 
self. 
The  Convention  thereupon  adjourned. 


EIGHTH   DAT. 


JEFFERSON  CITY, 
Tuesday,  June  10,  1862. 

Met  at  9  o'clock. 
Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 

QUESTION    OF    PRIVILEGE. 

Mr.  LONG,  on  a  privileged  question,  made 
the  following  explanation  : 

Having  been  either  misunderstood  in  an  ex- 
planation of  my  vote  upon  the  Orr  amendment, 
or  the  explanation  omitted  in  publishing  the 
votes,  I  desire  to  state  that  a  single  feature  in 
the  first  section  of  the  elective  franchise  was 


not  clear  to  my  mind  as  just  and  proper; 
hence  I  voted  for  Judge  On's  amendment  to 
strike  out,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  moving 
another  amendment  to  the  residue  of  the  sec- 
tion. This  privilege,  however,  was  cut  off  by 
its  re-commitment.  I  have  been  all  the  while, 
and  am  still,  firmly  of  the  opinion  that  a  strong 
safeguard  should  be  thrown  around  Missouri 
ballot-boxes,  and  that  the  closest  restrictions 
should  be  placed  upon  the  voters  —  loyalty  be- 
ing the  only  fair  test.  Let  loyal  men  vote,  to 
the  exclusion  of  those  who  have  raised  the  red 
hand  of  rebellion  against  the  Constitution  and 


157 


the  laws  of  the  best  and  most  lenient  Govern- 
ment on  the  earth— at  least  until  they  have 
been  regenerated  and  washed  of  their  sins. 

CLAIMS  AGAINST  THE  STATE. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS,  from  the  committee  to  whom 
was  referred  the  memorial  of  Philander  Dra- 
a  reference  to  claims  against  the  State, 
{.resented  an  ordinance  in  relation  thereto. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  I  move  to  re-com- 
mit it,  in  order  to  make  it  general. 

Mr.  McFi-KiiAN.  There  has  been  a  bill  re- 
ported from  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs 
that  I  think  covers  substantially  the  grounds 
covered  by  this  bill. 

Mr.  HALL.  I  withdraw  my  motion  for  the 
present. 

DIVISION    INSPECTORS. 

The  bill  for  the  payment  of  Division  Inspec- 
tors was  taken  up  and  read  as  follows  : 
AN  ORDINANCE  FOR  PAYMENT   OF   DIVIS- 
ION INSPECTORS,   AND  FOR  OTHER   PUR- 
PO- 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri tn  Convention  assembled,  as  follows  : 
SECTION  1.  That  the  unpaid  Division  In- 
spectors of  the  Missouri  State  Militia,  as  ap- 
pointed by  Provisional  Governor,  under  the  act 
of  1859,  which  act  was  revived  by  the  Conven- 
tion, shall  be  paid  by  the  Assistant  Paymaster 
of  the  Missouri  State  Militia,  according  to  rank, 
from  the  date  of  their  respective  commissions, 
until  the  repeal  of  said  act  on  the  17th  day  of  j 
October,  1861 :  Provided,  such  Inspectors  en- ! 
tered  upon  and  continued  in  the  discharge  of ! 
their  duties  as  such. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  Governor  may  appoint  as 
many  Commissioners  as  he  may  deem  necessa- 
ry, whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  audit  and  report 
for  payment,  to  the  Quartermaster  General  of 
the  State,  such  claims  for  Commissary  and 
Quartermaster  stores  furnished  to  the  State 

Militia,  after  the day  of  July,  1861,  and 

before  disbanding  from  the  "  six  months'  ser- 
vice," as  shall  be  proven  to  be  honest  and  just. 
The  Quartermaster  General,  or  any  Assistant 
Paymaster  of  the  Missouri  State  Militia,  shall 
pay  all  such  claims  as  may  be  audited  and  re- 
ported by  said  Commissioners  to  him  for  pay- 
ment, unless  such  claims  shall  appear  to  him 
to  be  unjust  and  unfounded,  in  which  case  he 
shall  return  them  to  the  Commissioner  or  his 
successor,  who  may  re-investigate  the  same 
and  make  a  second  report  on  such  claims  or 
claim.  Upon  such  second  report  being  made, 
the  amount  reported  for  payment  shall  be  paid 
by  the  Quartermaster  General. 


Sec.  3.  That  when  soldiers  have  died  in  the 
"six  months'  service"  Missouri  State  Militia, 
having  pay  or  claims  due  them  for  such  ser- 
vice, the  administrator  or  legal  representative 
of  said  deceased  soldier  shall  be  entitled  to  col- 
lect and  receive  the  amount  due  such  soldier 
from  the  officer  charged  with  the  payment  of 
such  claim ;  and  in  cases  where  the  estate  is 
so  small  as  not  to  authorize  an  administration 
under  existing  laws,  then  the  officer  will  pay 
the  amount  due  such  soldier  to  the  widow  and 
heirs  of  such  soldier  according  to  the  law  of 
distribution.  And  in  all  cases,  in  the  Missouri 
State  Militia,  where  a  soldier  has  been  or  may 
be  discharged  for  disability  existing  before  his 
enlistment,  he  shall  be  paid  by  the  Paymaster 
General  the  same  amount  he  would  have  re- 
ceived or  may  be  entitled  to  from  the  State  or 
Federal  Government  if  no  such  disability  had 
existed ;  and  in  case  of  the  death  of  such  soldier, 
the  amount  shall  be  paid  to  his  legal  represen- 
tatives. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  I  do  not  think  the  ordinance 
as  reported  accomplishes  the  object  I  had  in 
view,  and  I  therefore  move  to  pass  it  over  for 
the  present. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

REPORTS    OF    COMMITTEES. 

Mr.  POMEROY,  from  the  select  committee  to 
whom  was  referred  the  bill  for  the  distribution 
of  laws,  reported  the  same  back  and  recom- 
mended its  passage.  Mr.  Pomeroy  explained 
that  the  laws  were  sent  to  his  county,  but  were 
destroyed ;  and  this  ordinance  was  merely  to 
authorize  the  Secretary  of  State  to  furnish  other 
copies  to  the  county. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS  moved  to  add  Pettis  county, 
which  was  similarly  situated. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  wish  to  ask  whether  we  are 
to  entertain  local  legislation  ? 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  Convention  has 
taken  no  action  of  this  sort  at  all. 

Mr.  MC-FERRAN  moved  to  lay  the  ordinance 
on  the  table.  The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  WOODSON  presented  the  memorial  of 
Professor  Swallow  with  reference  to  certain 
moneys  due  him  from  the  State.  Keferred  to 
the  Committee  on  Finance. 

Mr.  ORR  presented  a  report  from  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revenue  recommending  the  passage 
of  the  ordinance  in  relation  to  the  Register  of 
Lands. 

Mr.  IRWIN,  from  the  select  committee,  pre- 
sented a  report  in  regard  to  the  petition  of 
citizens  of  the  Fourth  Senatorial  District  for 


158 


the  expulsion  of  P.  L.  Hudgens,  a  member  of 
the  Convention.  The  committee  report  the 
evidence  in  the  case  is  insufficient,  and  recom- 
mend that  the  petitioners  have  leave  to  with- 
draw. 

Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis.  I  ask  that  the 
petition  be  read. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  suppose  that  the  report 
of  the  committee  is  all  that  the  gentleman  from 
Andrew  could  ask;  and  as  the  State  cannot  be 
benefitted  by  an  investigation  in  relation  to  any 
differences  that  may  exist  between  him  and  his 
constituents,  I  move  to  lay  the  report  on  the 
table. 

Mr.  HUDGENS.  I  hope  the  gentleman  will 
not  insist  on  that  motion. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  beg  the  gentleman  to 
believe  that  the  motion  is  not  disrespectful  to 
him  ;  but  I  am  not  willing  to  take  up  the  time 
of  this  Convention  in  determining  questions  of 
this  sort. 

The  report  was  then  laid  on  the  table. 

The  ordinance  authorizing  the  Government 
to  appoint  artillery  officers  was  taken  up  and 
passed. 

Mr.  ZIMMERMAN  offered  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  adjourn  on 
next  Thursday,  and  stand  adjourned  until  the 
next  Legislature  is  duly  qualified  :  Provided, 
the  Governor,  if  necessary,  may  call  the  Con- 
vention together ;  and  if  it  is  not  called  together 
it  shall  be  adjourned  sine  die. 

Mr.  ALLEN.  I  move  to  lay  the  resolution  on 
the  table. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

QUALIFICATIONS    OF   VOTERS. 

t  The  ordinance  in  relation  to  the  qualifica- 
tions of  voters.  Several  verbal  changes  were 
made  in  the  ordinance  by  common  consent. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on 
the  adoption  of  the  third  section  as  amended. 

Mr.  SCOTT.  I  move  to  amend  in  the  fifteenth 
line.  After  the  word  "officers,"  insert  "and  all 
circuit  court  and  county  court  clerks." 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.    They  are  already  included. 

Mr.  SCOTT.  To  my  mind  there  is  something 
of  that  kind  necessary.  It  occurs  to  me  there 
may  be  som?  difficulty  as  to  where  the  candi- 
dates for  circuit  court  and  county  court  clerk- 
ships should  file  their  affidavits;  and  this  is  what 
induced  me  to  offer  this  amendment. 

The  amendment  was  lost. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  desire  to  offer  an  amend- 
ment. Insert  after  the  words  "State  of  Mis- 
souri," "nor  since  the  17th  of  December,  1861." 


I  desire,  Mr.  President,  to  make  an  explanation 
as  to  the  effect  the  amendment  I  have  proposed 
will  have  upon  the  amendment  as  offered  by 
the  chairman.  Yesterday  we  passed  an  amend- 
ment excluding  all  persons  from  voting  who 
have  been  in  the  military  service  since  the  17th 
of  December  last.  The  present  ordinance,  as 
reported,  excludes  all  persons  from  holding 
office  unless,  before  they  shall  have  been  ap- 
pointed or  elected,  they  shall  file  an  affidavit 
that  they  have  never  taken  up  arms  against  the 
United  States  or  the  Provisional  Government 
of  Missouri. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order. 
The  amendment  of  the  gentleman  is  out  of 
order,  because  this  section  is  not  now  subject  to 
amendment. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  do  not  intend  to  consume 
the  time  of  the  House  but  for  a  short  period ;  I 
do  not  intend  to  indulge  in  speech-making 
proper,  sir,  any  further.  I  was  remarking 
when  interrupted,  that  the  effect  of  the  amend- 
ment that  has  been  proposed  is  to  exclude  all 
persons  in  the  State  who  have  taken  up  arms 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
from  holding  any  office,  State,  county,  or  muni- 
cipal, within  the  State.  Now,  I  propose,  by  my 
amendment,  that  all  persons  who  have  been 
loyal  since  the  17th  of  December  shall  be 
allowed  to  hold  office.  Now,  sir,  I  am  no 
advocate  here,  and  I  do  not  desire  to  be  con- 
sidered as  such,  for  those  restless,  turbulent, 
and  evil  disposed  men  of  the  country  who  have 
stood  behind  the  scenes  here  and  induced  young 
men  and  others  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  or  of  Mis" 
souri ;  and  if  any  gentleman  is  disposed  to 
consider  me  as  wishing  to  mitigate  the  offences 
they  are  guilty  of,  I  am  misunderstood  en- 
tirely. I  come  from  one  of  the  rural  districts 
of  this  State,  and  I  have  some  knowledge  of 
the  working  of  this  thing  in  the  country.  I  do 
not  profess,  sir,  to  a  more  accurate  Knowledge 
of  the  operation  of  this  thing  than  other  gen- 
tlemen who  come  from  the  rural  districts ;  but 
my  experien  e  is,  and  I  have  no  doubt  it  is  the 
experience  of  various  other  gentlemen  here, 
that  there  are  thousands  and  thousands  of  men 
as  loyal,  Mr.  President,  as  you  or  I,  or  any  other 
member  on  this  floor,  who  have,  under  the 
stress  of  circumstances,  given  aid  and  comfort 
to  the  enemy  during  this  rebellion.  They 
have  not  done  so,  sir,  to  promote  rebellion,  but 
they  have  been  so  situated  that  they  have  been 
compelled  to  render  assistance.  Now,  I  appeal 
to  the  sense  of  the  Convention  to  reflect  upon 


159 


what  kind  of  a  predicament  men  thus  circum- 
stanced will  bo  placed  in  under  this  oath.  They 
may  be  able  to  swear  they  have  never  wilfully 
or  intentionally  given  aid  to  the  enemies  of  the 
General  Government,  or  the  State  of  Missouri; 
but  these  men  will  never  place  themselves  in 
a  position  to  swear  they  have  never  done  any 
acts  of  this  sort,  when  there  will  be  hundreds 
around  them  who  will  know  to  the  contrary. 

Mr.  IRWIN.  Does  not  the  word  "wilfully" 
obviate  the  objection'? 

Mr.  Ho  WELL.  I  think  not.  Now,  the  word 
"wilfully"  might  be  satisfactory  to  the  person 
taking  the  oath,  but  it  would  leave  such  an 
individual  subject  to  the  taunts  and  aspersions 
of  those  around  him  who  will  know  he  has 
committed  the  acts,  and  who  will  not  be  kind 
enough  to  explain  to  the  world  the  circum- 
stances under  which  they  were  committed. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  am  sorry  to  be  compelled  to 
differ  with  my  friend  on  this  proposition,  and, 
sir,  before  I  proceed  further,  I  will  state  that  I 
am  for  this  section  and  always  have  been.  This 
is  my  method  of  reaching  the  object  which  we 
all  desire,  of  keeping  loyal  men  in  office.  I 
have  been  in  favor  from  the  beginning,  and 
have  so  expressed  myself,  of  putting  restric- 
tions upon  the  candidate  or  man  who  is  to  hold 
office,  and  I  have  been  in  favor  of  leaving  the 
voter  free  from  any  retrospective  restriction. 
But  I  am  for  retrospective  restriction  upon  the 
candidates  and  always  have  been.  I  do  not 
think  this  section  is  liable  to  the  objection  urged 
by  my  friend.  He  says  there  are  many  men 
in  his  county  who  are  as  loyal  as  any  gentle- 
man on  this  floor,  but  who  have  been,  by  force 
of  circumstances,  compelled  to  give  aid  to  the 
rebellion.  Why,  sir,  they  are  not  included  in 
this  section  at  all,  and  I  will  read  to  show  that 
men  of  thai  character  who  have  been  against 
it  by  expressed  views  and  who  have  at  all 
times  discouraged  the  rebellion,  except  when 
overpowered  by  the  influences  around  them, 
that  such  men  are  not  governed  by  this  section 
at  all ;  and  the  word  wilfully  as  used  here,  I 
contend,  does  give  relief  to  these  men.  I  have 
men  of  that  sort  in  my  county.  They  are 
Union  men  and  have  been,  and  whenever  they 
have  not  been  overpowered  by  the  force  of 
surrounding  circumstances,  they  have  been 
opposed  to  the  rebellion,  and  I  think  they  are 
excluded  by  this  oath. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  would  like,  for  informa- 
tion, to  ass  the  gentleman  from  Monroe  if  I 
am  mistaken  in  supposing  that  the  operation 
of  his  amendment  would  include  all  of  Colonel 


Martin  Green's  company,  who  went  back  to 
North-east  Missouri. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  No,  sir,  I  do  not  propose  to 
modify  the  ordinance  so  as  to  relieve  any  man 
who  has  taken  up  arms  or  been  connected  with 
any  organization  against  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  or  the  State  of  Missouri  at 
any  time.  If  my  amendment  is  read,  it  will 
show  that  the  limit  to  the  17th  of  December  is 
only  to  apply  to  those  who  may  have  given  aid 
or  comfort.  I  desire  to  remark  that  I  was  not 
a  favorite  with  Colonel  Green's  men.  They 
had  no  love  for  me,  as  all  my  county  knows. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  would  ask  the  gentleman 
this  question.  Does  he  not  think  there  are  a 
great  many  men,  in  some  parts  of  the  State, 
who,  since  the  17th  of  December,  have  been 
forced  to  give  aid  and  comfort  to  the  rebellion? 

Mr.  SHANKLIN.  I  have  been  somewhat  ac- 
quainted with  the  pressure  brought  to  bear 
upon  young  men  to  enter  this  rebellion  in  the 
country  where  I  have  been,  and  I  have  been 
doubtful  in  my  views  in  regard  to  restrictions. 
But  I  desire  the  offices  of  the  State  to  be  held 
by  loyal  men,  and  loyal  men  only.  Those  who 
have  been  drawn  into  the  rebellion  are  either 
too  weak  or  too  corrupt  to  hold  office.  I  am, 
therefore,  opposed  to  the  amendment. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  demanded  on  Mr. 
Howell's  amendment,  and  the  vote  resulted  : 
yeas  22,  nays  44.  So  the  amendment  was  lost. 

Mr.  COMINGO.  I  thought  I  sufficiently  ex- 
plained my  vuws  on  yesterday  to  set  myself 
right,  and  be  understood  by  all  who  heard  me, 
but  it  appears  I  was  mistaken.  There  is  either 
an  entire  misapprehension  of  the  position  I 
assumed,  o»  a  wilful  and  designed  misrep- 
resenta'ion  of  my  language.  [  therefore  feel 
constrained  to  add  a  few  remarks  this  morn- 
ing. 

It  was  in  effect,  if  not  in  express  teims,  sta- 
ted by  one  gentleman,  in  his  reply  to  the  re- 
marks I  made  yesterday,  that  there  is  a  strong 
presump''on  that  any  one  who  entertains  such 
views,  entertains  an  undue  sympathy  for  the 
rebellion  and  its  friends.  I  must  c»nfe.«s,  sir, 
that  I  was  pained  when  I  heard  that  sentiment 
uttered  here.  If  a  man's  views  as  to  what  is 
law  and  what  is  not,  and  what  is  sound  policy 
and  what  is  not,  are  to  determine  the  question 
as  to  his  loyalty,  I  ask  how  are  we  to  get  a 
standard  by  which  all  are  to  be  judged  ?  We 
fino  among  the  members  on  this  floor,  a  great 
variety  of  opinions  on  these  very  questions. 
Who  e  shall  we  adopt  as  the  standard  ?  At  all 
times,  but  more  especially  in  times  like  the 


160 


present,  it  ig  important  to  have  some  well  de- 
fined rules  by  which  the  great  questions  that 
arise  between  the  Government  and  its  subjects 
can  be  clearly  and  properly  settled.  Can  we  ever 
get  them,  if  the  idea  in  the  minds  of  some  here 
of  what  constitutes  loyalty  is  correct  ?  Whose 
views  of  the  law  and  of  sound  policy  shall  we 
adopt?  The  gentleman  from  St.  Louis,  (Mr. 
Breckinridge,)  whom  I  regard  as  a  friend,  has 
one  standard  and  I  have  another.  He  goes  a 
step  or  two  beyond  me  in  declaring  the  law, 
and  adopting  a  policy.  He  will,  by  his  stan- 
dard, hang,  imprison,  or  fine  me,  on  account 
of  disloyalty ;  but  to  avert  this  calamity,  sup- 
pose I  conclude  to  adopt  his  standard,  or,  in 
other  words,  his  interpretation  of  the  law,  &c. 
But  this  does  not  clear  our  coast  of  breakers. 
A  third  gentleman  comes  along  entertaining 
still  another,  and,  if  you  please,  a  more  exal- 
ted opinion  of  law  and  policy.  Judged  by  his 
standard,  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  and 
myself  are  in  sympathy  with  rebels,  and  are 
therefore  unworthy  to  be  classed  with  loyal 
men.  The  gentleman  from  Linn  (Mr.  Smith) 
is  the  one  who  gave,  more  clearly  than  any 
other,  expression  to  the  sentiment  to  which  I 
have  thus  referred.  But  I  doubt  not  that  he 
will  some  day  see  and  acknowledge  his  error 
as  to  this.  I  presume  he  is  a  law-abiding  man  ; 
and  I  believe  he  is  a  dispenser  of  the  law  in 
one  of  the  courts  of  this  State.  Suppose  he 
were  to  go  upon  the  streets  at  this  time  and  see 
an  infuriated  populace  about  to  visit  summary 
punishment  on  some  one  who  had  been  guilty 
of  murder  or  some  other  great  offence,  would 
he  not  raise  his  voice  against  popular  violence  ? 
Would  he  not  appeal  to  the  multitude  with  all 
the  energies  of  his  soul,  and  beseech  them,  by 
all  the  considerations  he  could  urge,  to  desist? 
I  entertain  no  kind  of  doubt  that  he  wTould. 
Suppose,  again,  that  he  should  see  one  about 
to  become  a  victim  to  popular  violence  in  any 
of  its  forms,  excited  by  an  offence,  or  even  by 
repeated  offences,  against  the  laws  of  the  land  ; 
and  suppose  he,  as  a  good  citizen,  should  raise 
his  voice  against  it,  and  should  admonish  the 
people  of  the  danger  attending  such  acts  as 
they  were  about  to  perpetrate.  I  ask  him  wheth- 
er he  could,  with  the  least  degree  of  propriety, 
be  said  to  sympathize  with  the  murderer,  and 
the  other  violaters  of  the  laws  of  the  land, 
whom  he  might  thus  endeavor  to  protect  ? 
Surely  not.  So  it  is  with  rpgard  to  the  propo- 
sition now  under  consideration ;  and  so  with 
regard  to  all  others  of  a  kindred  nature.  If  a 
man  see  another  about  to  do  what  he  honestly 


believes  to  be  a  violation  of  law,  or  even  im- 
politic in  its  character,  it  becomes  his  duty  to 
raise  his  voice  against  it ;  but,  according  to  the 
gentleman  from  Linn,  he  thereby  manifests  a 
sympathy  for  those  whom  he  would  protect 
against  the  punishment  about  to  be  inflicted,  aa 
he  believes,  in  violation  of  the  law.  This,  it 
occurs  to  me,  is  a  narrow  and  illiberal  view  of 
the  motives  by  which  men  are  presumed  to  be 
governed  in  the  discharge  of  a  sworn  duty. 

Sir,  I  do  not  feel  like  casting  reproach  upon 
any  member  of  this  body.  I  do  not  feel  dis- 
posed to  use  vindictive  epithets  in  speaking  of 
those  present  who  do  not  take  the  same  view 
of  duty  that  I  do.  I  do  not  feel  like  retorting 
upon  them  by  conjuring  up  uncharitable  pre- 
sumptions as  to  the  motives  that  impel  them 
in  their  action,  if  I  had  the  power  to  do  so.  I 
will  tell  the  gentleman  from  Linn,  however, 
that  there  are  men  all  through  the  State  who 
will  concur  with  me  in  the  views  I  entertain 
and  have  endeavored  to  present,  and  they,  too, 
as  loyal  as  he  is,  or  as  he  dare  or  could  wish 
to  be.  There  are  men  in  this  State,  and  not  a 
few  I  imagine,  entertaining  these  views,  who 
have  that  high  regard  for  their  country,  which, 
I  doubt  not,  actuates  him ;  men, who  would  say 
to  us,  with  fervid  earnestness,  "  Do  not,  in  your 
desire  to  punish  the  guilty,  and  preserve  the 
Government,  override  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws,  if  possible  to  avoid  it;';  and  these  too — 
all  of  them — men  who,  from  their  inmost  souls, 
would  sing  of  their  country  as  one  of  old  sang 
of  the  church — 

*'•  If  ere  my  heart  forget 

Her  welfare  or  her  woe, 
Let  every  joy  this  heart  forsake, 
And  every  grief  o'erflow." 

I  have  opposed  all  these  measures  which  point 
to  the  disfranchisement  of  our  citizens  and 
their  disqualification  for  holding  office  as  un- 
constitutional. With  regard  to  the  section  now 
under  consideration,  or,  more  properly,  with 
reference  to  the  amendment  thereto,  there  are 
but  two  questions, — the  one  relates  to  its  pol- 
icy, the  other  to  its  legality.  Touching  its 
policy  I  shall  not  say  another  word,  as  it  has 
already  been  most  thoroughly  discussed,  ex- 
cept to  add  that  I  still  think  it  doubtful,  admit- 
ting that  there  can  be  no  other  questions  grow- 
ing out  of  it. 

With  reference  to  its  legality,  I  will  add  a 
few  words.  I  stated  on  yesterday  that  this 
amendment  does  one  of  two  things  :  it  creates 
a  civil  disability,  such  as  may  be  created  by  a 
law  defining  the  qualifications  of  voters,  or  it 


161 


acts  as  a  punishment  upon  those  whom  it 
reaches  in  its  effects  for  an  offence  they  have 
committed  against  existing  laws. 

If  it  can  b*  shown  to  be  merely  of  the  for- 
mer character,  all  discussion  must  end,  except 
as  to  the  policy  of  the  measure  j  but  if  it 
should  appear  to  be  of  the  latter,  no  further 
discussion  can  arise.  I  have  maintained,  and 
I  still  maintain,  that  this  amendment,  should  it 
become  a  law,  will  belong  to  that  class  of 
laws  the  passage  of  which  is  prohibited,  the 
opinion  of  gentlemen  of  legal  ability  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding.  Now  let  us  look 
for  a  moment  at  the  ordinance,  or,  I  should 
rather  say,  the  amendment  itself.  It  provides, 
in  effect  at  leiist,  that  all  who  have  taken  up 
arms,  or  given  aid,  &c.,  against  the  Govern- 
ment, shall  be,  in  consequence  of  so  doing,  dis- 
qualified to  vote.  I  ask  you,  is  it  not  manifest 
from  the  very  terms  of  the  ordinance  itself 
that  it  is  designed  as  a  punishment  to  those  to 
whom  it  will  reach — a  punishment  for  a  mis- 
demeanor— a  punishment  for  treason  in  all  its 
forms — and  nothing  more  or  less?  If  lam 
correct  in  my  conclusion  as  to  this,  then,  I  ask 
you,  how  the  question  stands  in  a  legal  point 
of  view?  Asa  matter  of  course,  every  gen- 
tleman will  admit  that  it  is  indefensible. 

I  ask  the  indulgence  of  the  house  for  a  few 
moments,  that  I  may  read  one  or  two  authori- 
ties, with  regard  to  these  retrospective  laws, 
showing  the  light  in  which  they  are  regarded 
by  those  who  have  written  to  inform  us,  and 
all  otheis  who  might  come  after  them,  as  to 
the  law.  1  read  from  Walker's  American  Law, 
gectiori  S3,  page  195  : 

"  There  can  be  but  one  opinion  as  to  the  in- 
justice of  retro-active  laws.  It  is  a  necessary 
maxim  that  ignorance  of  the  law  forms  no  ex- 
cuse for  violating  it,  because,  otherwise,  every 
transgressor  would  set  up  the  plea  of  igno- 
rance. When  laws  are  prospective  in  their  pro- 
visions, and  promulgated  before  they  take  ef- 
fect, there  is  no  hardship  in  this  maxim  ;  for 
it  is  at  least  possible  to  know  them.  But  when 
they  are  made  to  act  backwards  upon  that 
which  transpired  before  their  existence,  this 
maxim  becomes  inhuman,  since  it  holds  men 
responsible  for  knowing  what  they  could  not 
possibly  have  known.  Again:  retro-active 
laws  are  as  absurd  as  they  are  unjust.  The 
des'gn  of  a  law  is  to  regulate  conduct ;  that  is, 
to  fix  a  rule  for  it  j  and  the  idea  of  regulating 
past  conduct  involves  an  absurdity  in  terms. 
You  may  attach  a  new  consequence  to  a  past 
transaction,  but  this  is  not  regulating  it  j  for 
11 


that  which  is  past  is  beyond  regulation.  It 
cannot  be  altPied,  recalled,  or  avoided  j  and^ 
therefore,  ought  not  to  be  legislated  upon.  Give 
a  Legislature  power  to  pass  retio-active  laws., 
and  no  one  can  be  safe,  since  his  whole  past 
life  is  liable  to  be  animadverted  upon.  For 
such  reasons  as  these,  it  is  obvious  that  retro- 
active laws  are  fit  only  for  tyrant  to  make 
and  slaves  to  submit  to." 

This  same  author  tells  us  that  ex  posttfact* 
laws  are  held  to  be  retro-active  ciiuunal  lawB. 
Such  is,  no  doubt,  the  case  }  all  the  authorities 
concur  on  this  poii.t.  And  it  is  because  I  ic- 
gard  this  amendment  as  retio-active,  and  aa 
possessing  the  character  of  a  criminal  law;  that 
I  oppose  it.  Treason,  in  all  its  forms  is,  and 
ever  has  been,  and  must  ever  be,  regarded  and 
punished  as  a  crime.  In  one  form  it  may  be 
punished  with  death,  or  by  imprisonment  im 
the  penitentiary,  under  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  this  State.  In  this  case,  conviction  ia 
followed  by  all  the  disabilities  contemplated  la 
this  amendment.  But  there  are  many  cases  ia 
which  these  disabilities  do  not  attach  at  pres- 
ent, as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  our  legis- 
lative enactments  upon  the  subject. 

The  twelfth  section  of  the  act  prescribing 
the  punishment  of  treason,  misprision  of  trea- 
son, &e.,  and  the  fourth  section  of  the  same 
act,  indicate  what  punishment  may  be  inflicted 
upon  those  convicted  of  certain  offences  par- 
taking of  the  nature  of  treason.  In  none  of 
these  cases,  the  disabilities  we  are  endeavoring 
to  create  attach  under  any  of  our  existing 
laws.  I  might  read  f  rom  Sedgwick  and  Story, 
and  other  authors,  with  regaid  to  (he  crime  of 
treason,  showing  what  it  is,  and  how  it  may 
be  punished,  but  it  is  not  necessary  that  I  do 
so.  All  the  authorities  show  that  a  law  that 
enlarges  the  punishment  of  an  offence  already 
committed,  is  ex  post  facto,  and,  therefore,  un- 
constitutional and  void. 

Now,  it  has  been  argued  by  some  that,  inas- 
much as  new  consequences  may  be  attached 
to  the  commission  of  any  particular  offence, 
we  have  full  authority  and  power  to  do  what 
we  are  attempting.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  admit 
that  if  we  were  about  to  remove  existing  pun- 
ishments from  those  who  have  been  guilty  of 
treason 

Mr.  Moss.  Tho  gentleman  has  read  a  law 
authority  in  support  of  the  position  he  takes. 
I  will  just  read  a  portion  of  it  over  again,  and 
ask  him  a  question.  [Mr.  Muss  then  read  a 
pait  of  the  extract  already  given  from  Walk- 
er's American  Law.]  I  now  ask  the  gentle- 


162 


man  if  this  is  not  attaching  a  new  consequence 
to  a  past  transaction  ? 

Mr.  COMINGO.  It  is  not,  in  the  sense  in 
which  the  gentleman  assumes  it  to  be;  nor  in 
the  sense  in  which  it  may  be  done,  or  ever  has 
been  done.  I  suppose  if  we  were  to  change 
the  punishment  for  treason  in  such  manner  as 
to  substitute  a  less  or  milder  form  for  any  of 
the  severer  modes  now  authorized  by  law,  we 
would  be  attaching  a  new  consequence  to  the 
offence,  and  would  be  acting  in  conformity 
with  the  authority  cited. 

To  illustrate.  If  by  existing  law  the  pun- 
ishment for  treason,  or  any  other  given  offence, 
were  death,  and  we,  or  any  other  body  acting 
in  a  legislative  capacity,  should  change  the 
law  in  such  manner  as  to  punish  all  such  of- 
fences, as  well  those  that  have  been  as  those 
that  may  hereafter  be  committed,  with  impris- 
onment for  life,  or  in  any  manner  less  severe 
than  death,  we  would  be  attaching  a  new  con- 
sequence. So,  too,  would  we  be  adding  a  new 
consequence  were  we  to  change  the  punish- 
ment now  inflicted  for  malicious  assault  with 
intent  to  kill  to  fine  and  imprisonment  in  the 
county  jail.  In  a  word,  any  mitigation  of  the 
punishment  that  may  be  inflicted  on  account 
of  an  antecedent  offence  might  be  regarded  as 
the  attaching  of  a  new  consequence  to  a  past 
transaction  ;  and  parties  accused  could  not  ob- 
ject to  it. 

But,  sir,  we  are  not  attaching  a  new  conse- 
.quence,  but  an  additional  one.  We  leave  all 
the  old  consequences  standing,  and  attach 
another.  The  effect  is  just  as  I  have  stated 
it;  and  we  are  doing,  indirectly,  what  we  have 
not  the  power,  and  would  not  attempt  to  do, 
directly  ;  for,  I  presume,  no  one  here  would 
vote  for  an  ordinance  any  clause  of  which 
might  propose  disfranchisement  as  an  addition- 
al punishment  for'treason,  or  any  other  crime 
heretofore  committed.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  ad- 
mit that  all  kinds  of  legal  restraints  and  safe- 
guards ought  to  be  thrown  around  the  exercise 
of  the  elective  franchise,  and  the  right  to  seek 
and  hold  office,  that  are  not  repugnant  to  sound 
policy.  But,  entertaining  the  views  that  I 
have  expressed  touching  the  character  and 
effect  of  this  amendment,  I  feel  constrained  to 
vote  against  it. 

Mr.  FLOOD.  I  wish  to  give  the  reasons  why 
I  cannot  vote  for  that  section  of  the  ordinance. 
I  am  in  favor  of  restrictions,  but  I  am  not  in 
favor  of  the  restrictions  which  that  section  im- 
poses. If  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  Monroe  had  been  adopted  I  could 


vote  for  it.  I  know  in  the  section  of  country 
where  I  live  that  many  of  the  best  citizens  in 
our  county,  from  the  impulse  of  the  moment 
and  from  circumstances  thrown  around  them, 
did  for  a  time  encourage  this  rebellion.  1  know 
that  that  ordinance  will  exclude  the  best  citi- 
zens of  our  county  from  holding  office.  Why, 
when  it  was  said  all  over  the  country  that 
Frank  Blair  was  coming  with  a  mob  to 
take  the  Capitol,  and  the  Governor  called 
upon  the  militia  to  rally  to  the  support  of 
the  Government,  the  whole  country  was  in 
a  blaze,  and  the  most  loyal  citizens  we  had 
responded  to  the  call.  It  may  be  said  from 
this  that  I  am  a  secession  sympathiser,  but 
those  who  know  me,  know  that  from  the  first 
I  opposed  this  movement.  I  look  upon  it  as 
one  of  the  most  damnable  heresies  that  ever 
was  started — I  look  upon  it  as  the  twin 
sister  of  Abolitionism  ;  and  instead  of  being 
governed  by  higher  laws,  they  are  gov- 
erned v  by  lower  laws,  which  come  from  the 
father  of  lies.  But  I  do  not  want  to  exclude 
my  fellow-citizens  that  are  as  loyal  as  I  am, 
and  rather  than  do  it,  I  would  say,  let  my  right 
arm  fall  from  my  shoulder  blade. 

The  third  and  fourth  sections  were  then 
agreed  to. 

Mr.  RAY  moved  to  strike  out  of  the  fifth  sec- 
tion, "ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  school 
teachers." 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  only  wish  to  express 
my  hope,  Mr.  President,  that  this  amendment 
will  not  be  adopted.  If  I  understand  the  effect 
of  the  ordinance,  it  is  to  prevent  any  minister 
of  the  Gospel,  who  is  not  willing  to  take  this 
oath,  from  marrying  persons.  It  does  not 
prevent  him  from  preaching,  or  burying  the 
dead,  or  baptizing  children.  It  keeps  him  from 
marrying  those  who  wish  to  be  married.  I  do 
not  suppose  it  would  prevent  marriage,  for 
there  are  plenty  of  justices  of  the  peace  in  the 
country.  The  only  effect  is  to  show  the  pur- 
pose of  such  persons  not  to  be  loyal  if  they  are 
unwilling  to  take  the  oath.  I  do  not  know 
any  duty  which  appertains  to  the  avocation  of 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  except  the  right  of 
marrying. 

Mr.  SHEELEY.  I  would  ask  whether,  under 
the  laws  and  constitution  of  this  State,  preach- 
ing does  not  amount  to  a  duty. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  My  attention  has  not 
been  directed  to  that. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  suggest  that  the  diffi- 
culty raised  by  the  gentleman  can  be  reached 
by  an  amendment  which  I  propose  to  offer. 


163 


After  stating  that  these  parties  shall  take  an 
oath  within  ninety  days,  insert  as  follows : 
"And  failing  to  do  so,  every  minister  of  the 
Gospel  shall  thereafter  be  disqualified  from 
performing  any  civil  functions  under  the  civil 
laws  of  this  State." 

Mr.  Moss.  I  desire  to  make  some  remarks, 
and  before  doing  so,  I  wisli  the  clerk  to  read 
an  amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
St.  Louis. 

The  clerk  then  read  the  amendment  offered 
by  Mr.  Breckinridge  on  yesterday. 

Mr,  Moss.    Now,  Mr.  President,  I  have  no  ' 
serious  objection  to  shutting  the  man  out  from 
holding  office  who  has  been  guilty  of  conduct 
of  that  sort — an  office,  in  the  exercise  of  the  | 
duties  of  which  he  might  ruin  the  State.    But  ' 
while  gentlemen  may  say  it  is  right  to  prevent  j 
a  man  from  voting  and  holding  office  who  has 
been  guilty  of  these  things,  it  seems  to  me  no  | 
law  can  prevent  a  man  from  teaching  school  j 
or  practising  his  profession.     We  are  not  here  ; 
for  the  purpose  of  making  beggars.  Some  men  • 
have  learned  to  teach  school  as  a  profession  and  ! 
they  know  nothing  else  ;  lawyers  are  just  the  ( 
same  in  this  respect ;  but  you  absolutely  take 
the  bread  and  meat  from  the  mouths  of  their 
wives  and  children  by  this  amendment.     I,  for 
one,  am  not  willing  to  aid  in  bringing  men  to 
want  and  beggary  in  Missouri. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  This  argument  is  out  of 
order  at  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  move  to  amend  by  exempting 
attorneys  and  school  teachers. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  desire  to  say,  as  far  as 
this  oath  required  to  be  taken  in  the  fifth  sec- 
tion is  concerned,  I  do  not  suppose  any  one  de- 
sires to  make  it  retrospective,  and  I  do  not 
want  members  of  the  Convention,  in  voting  on 
an  amendment  that  has  nothing  to  do  with 
that,  to  be  influenced  in  their  vote  by  believ- 
ing that  this  oath  is  designed  or  intended  to  be 
retrospective.  The  question  now  is,  whether 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  school  teachers 
shall  take  this  oath.  I  think  if  there  is  any 
class  in  the  State  that  ought  to  be  put  under 
the  solemnity  of  an  oath,  it  is  the  ministers  of 
the  Gospel.  Of  all  the  men  in  the  State  who 
have  contributed  to  bring  about  the  evils  now 
on  us,  I  think  there  is  no  class  that  is  so  re- 
sponsible as  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  The 
minister  always  does  his  work  effectually;  and 
whenever  he  gets  to  be  a  politician  and  gets 
among  his  flock,  he  instils  poison  into  their 
minds,  and  all  the  arguments  of  politicians  and 
orators  can  never  remove  it.  If  there  is 


any  class  of  men  in  this  State  who  should  be 
put  under  obligations  of  loyalty,  the  experien- 
ces of  the  last  year  show  it  should  be  ministers 
of  the  Gospel.  I  would  rather  except  attorneys 
at  law  than  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  I  believe 
they  are  not  as  fanatical  upon  the  questions  in- 
volved in  this  rebellion  as  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel have  shown  themselves.  It  can  do  no  harm 
to  make  ministers  of  the  Gospel  loyal.  I  do 
not  desire  to  make  this  oath  retroactive  as  to 
them,  nor  do  I  think  the  Convention  desires  to 
do  it;  but  that  they  should  take  an  oath  I  have 
no  doubt,  and  that  the  public  safety  of  the  State 
requires  it.  The  ordinance,  as  it  now  stands, 
does  not  prevent  or  prohibit  disloyal  ministers 
from  discharging  their  duties  under  the  law. 
In  all  respects  I  think  it  does  not  go  far  enough 
in  this  respect.  I  do  not  Ihink  disloyal  men 
should  be  permitted  to  preach  in  this  State- 
Not  that  I  have  any  disrespect  for  ministers  of 
the  Gospel,  but  because  I  have  a  high  respect 
for  the  public  safety  and  the  peace  of  the  State, 
and  because  I  consider  them  more  important 
than  any  considerations  appertaining  to  indivi- 
duals. At  the  proper  time  I  shall  move,  un- 
less I  shall  change  my  purpose,  to  make  it 
apply  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  preaching  if 
they  refuse  to  take  the  oath  we  prescribe. 

Mr.  Moss,  I  will  say  to  the  gentleman,  if 
he  will  do  as  he  proposes,  I  shall  have  no  ob- 
jection to  his  swearing  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
or  school  teachers  in  the  future. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  question  before 
the  Convention  is  on  agreeing  to  the  amend- 
ment offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Carroll 
(Mr,  Ray). 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  submit  whether  the  gentle- 
man cannot  withdraw  his  amendment,  and  see 
whether  it  will  be  perfected  as  he  desires  it. 

Mr.  RAY.  I  am  willing  that  it  should  be 
perfected. 

Mr.  BOGY.  I  move  to  strike  out  the  words 
"  school  teachers  and  attorneys-at-law."  That 
leaves  only  the  preachers.  I  wish  them  to  be 
excluded. 

Mr.  RAY.  I  make  this  suggestion  to  my 
friend  from  Davis.  I  will  offer  this  amend- 
ment :  insert  after  the  word  "ordinance  "  in  the 
first  line,  "  except  so  far  as  the  same  is  retro- 
spective." I  think  this  amendment  will  make 
the  section  what  its  friends  desire,  and  by  com- 
mon consent  it  can  be  made  so  to  read. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  suggest  to  the  gentle- 
man from  Carroll  that  if  he  will  withdraw  his 
amendment  and  let  me  perfect  the  section,  he 
can  then  renew  it. 


164 


Mr.  RAY.     I  will  do  so. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  will  offer  this  amend- 
ment to  the  fifth  section.  Amend  by  striking 
out  section  five  and  insert  as  follows  : 

SEC.  5.  The  courts  of  this  State  shall  re- 
quire all  jurymen  and  attorneys  to  take 
and  subscribe  the  following  oath :  u  I,  — 
do  solemnly  swear,  (or  affirm,  as  the  case 
may  be,)  that  I  will  support,  protect  and  de- 
fend the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri, against  all  enemies  and  opposers, 
whether  domestic  or  foreign;  that  I  will 
bear  true  faith,  loyalty,  and  allegiance  to 
the  United  States,  and  will  not,  directly  or 
indirectly,  adhere  to  the  enemies  or  oppo- 
sers thereof,  or  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment of  the  State  of  Missouri,  by  giving 
them  aid  and  comfort,  any  ordinance,  law, 
or  resolution  of  any  State  Convention  or 
Legislature,  or  of  any  order  or  organiza- 
tion, secret  or  otherwise,  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding ;  and  that  I  do  this  with 
a  full  and  honest  determination,  pledge 
and  purpose  to  keep  and  perform  the  same, 
without  any  mental  reservation  or  eva- 
sion whatever :  So  help  me  God."  The  same 
oath  shall  also  be  taken  and  subscribed  by 
the  President,  Professors  and  Curators  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  by  all 
Bank  officers,  Common  School  teachers  who 
are  paid  in  whole  or  in  part  out  of  funds 
provided  by  law,  and  Common  School  trus- 
tees, by  all  officers  of  all  incorporated  com- 
panies of  this  State,  and  by  all  licensed  or 
ordained  preachers  of  the  Gospel  before 
performing  the  ceremony  of  marriage  in 
this  State,  and  filed  in  any  County  Clerk's 
office  in  this  State  ;  and  every  licensed  or 
ordained  preacher  of  the  Gospel  who  shall 
perform  the  ceremony  of  marriage  in  this 
State  before  taking  said  oath,  and  every 
other  person  aforesaid  assuming  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  pertaining  to  his  said  avo- 
cation under  the  laws  of  this  State,  without 
complying  with  the  provisions  of  this  sec- 
tion, shall  be  liable  to  prosecution  in  any 
court  of  competent  jurisdiction  in  this  State, 
by  indictment,  and  upon  conviction  shall 
be  punished  for  each  offence  by  a  fine  not 
less  than  ten  nor  more  than  two  hundred 
dollars.  This  section  shall  take  effect  ninety 
days  from  the  passage  of  this  ordinance." 


Mr.  ORR.  I  offer  the  following :  Amend 
section  five  by  striking  out  all  that  reiates  to 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  school  teachers,  and 
school  trustees. 

Mr.  BRKCKINRIDGE.  If  I  am  not  mistaken, 
there  are  no  duties  appertaining  to  the  avoca- 
tion of  a  school  teacher,  under  the  laws  of  the 
State.  It  would  be  well,  perhaps,  to  add  Com- 
mon School  teachers. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  beg  the  Convention  to  reflect 
for  a  moment  as  to  where  we  are  drifting.  I 
have  but  little  hope  that  anything  I  mav  say 
will  stay  the  current ;  but  I  desire,  neverthe- 
less, to  be  heard  for  a  few  moments.  I  have 
been  willing  to  restrict  the  candidates,  and  that 
was  as  far  as  I  desired  to  go.  I  was  opposed 
to  placing  any  restrictions  upon  the  voter,  be- 
cause I  believed  I  was  discharging  a  duty  I 
owed — not  to  secessionists,  for  I  stated  the  other 
evening  that  we  were  under  no  obligations  to 
them  whatever, — but  a  duty  I  owe  to  the  coun- 
try in  which  I  live.  You  propose  now  to  make 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  school  teachers 
take  the  oath.  Well,  what  do  you  expect  to 
attain  by  it  ?  Do  you  expect  that  every  school 
teacher  in  Missouri  will  come  up  and  take  this 
oath  ?  Do  you  expect  every  minister  of  the 
Gospel  that  performs  the  functions  of  his  call- 
ing will  come  up  and  take  this  oath"?  You 
hear  the  gentleman  from  Daviess  say  that  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel  have  done  more  than  any 
other  class  to  stir  up  this  rebellion,  and  I  agree 
with  him  ;  but,  notwithstanding  all  the  "  stir- 
ring up"  they  have  done,  we  have  squelched  it 
out  in  Missouri,  and  proved  ourselves  adequate 
to  the  task  of  putting  it  down.  Let  us  reflect  for 
an  instant  as  to  the  revolutions  in  Europe,  and 
when  weare  disposed  to  enact  extreme  measures, 
be  warned  by  the  assumption  and  abuse  of  pow- 
er which  Cromwell  displayed  when  he  crushed 
all  opposers,  regardless  of  justice  or  humanity. 
Of  course  we  do  not  expect  to  abuse  the  power 
entrusted  to  us ;  but,  unless  we  have  a  stop- 
ping point,  we  shall  find  some  day,  when  it  is 
too  late,  that  we  have  been  guilty  of  the  most 
grievous  mismanagement. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.     Mr.   President,  I  desire 

Mr.  ORR.  You  can  "  pitch  in"  after  I  get 
through.  I  have  a  few  words  to  say  in  refer- 
ence to  this  subject,  and  then  you  can  vote  as 
you  please.  What  do  we  see  in  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  to-day  ?  We  see  individ- 
uals endeavoring  to  pass  laws  to  inflict  punish- 
ment on  rebels  without  calling  upon  a  jury  of 
the  country  to  say  whether  an  individual  i» 


165 

guilty  or  pot.  Have  we  drifted  into  the  same  ington.  He  put  down  that  rebellion,  and  no- 
channel  ?  Are  we  not  endeavoring  to  inflict  body  was  ever  proscribed  for  going  into  it. 
punishment,  and  do  the  same  thing?  What  There  was  a  rebellion  in  Tennessee,  and  af- 
do  YOU  see  ?  Ex-Governor  Brown  of  Tennes-  ter  it  was  quelled  the  leaders  of  it  went  to  Con- 
see,  a  man  who  was  driven  into  the  rebellion —  gress.  What  do  you  see  in  the  Calhoun  rebel- 
one  of  the  greatest  men  in  Tennessee — stands  lion,  and  in  the  Hartford  Convention  arrange- 
up  now  and  tells  the  people  that  the  rebellion  ment?  Why,  the  individuals  tliat  planned 


has  gone  down,  and  is  a  direct  failure.  HH 
fought  against  secession  as  long  as  it  was  pos- 
sible for  him  to  do  so  ;  and  he  finally  told  them 
they  could  take  him  into  the  Southern  Confed- 
eracy, but  they  could  never  make  him  vote  for 


treason  and  acted  treason  were  afterwards  ele- 
vated to  posts  of  high  responsibility.  Calhoun 
went  to  Congress,  and  was  a  member  there 
with  Jackson,  who  crushed  his  rebellion,  and 
nobody  dared  to  say  he  was  not  a  citizen  of  the 
it,  or  fight  for  it;  and  now  he  comes  out  and  j  United  States.  Sir,  it  is  a  crime  to  disfran- 
acknowledges  it  a  failure,  and  that  all  they  can  chise  men  without  a  trial.  These  men  who 
do  is  to  bring  certain  destruction  upon  the  |  have  engaged  in  this  rebellion  are  still  citizens 
South.  Yet,  we  see  here  to-day,  members  of  !  of  the  United  States.  South  Carolina  has  an 
this  Convention  whose  loyalty  I  never  have !  interest  in  the  Union,  and  so  has  every  State 
doubted,  standing  up  ready  to  enact  the  most  that  has  gone  out;  and,  because  they  have 
extreme  measures,  although  they  were  afraid  gone  with  a  crime,  dark  and  damning,  it  is  no 
to  vote  with  me  that  the  Georgia  Commis-  reason  why  they  are  not  citizens  of  the  United 
sioner  should  not  be  allowed  to  come  in  and  States. 


discuss  his  treasonable  sentiments  at  the  first 


Now,  what  are  we  here  for?     Are  we  not  a 


session  of  this  Convention.  Now,  they  are  Union  party  and  Convention  ?  and  are  we  not 
willing,  when  the  Government  has  proved  ad-  j  here  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  to  its  former 
equate  to  sustain  itself,  to  pass  the  most  ex-  ;  prosperity  the  Union  of  these  States  ?  How  ? 
treme  measures  in  reference  to  disloyal  men.  j  By  crushing  every  man  who  is  opposed  to  it? 
Mr.  President,  we  are  a  great  nation,  and  we  !  No,  sir.  If  you  want  a  Union,  you  must  let 
can  afford  to  be  magnanimous  ;  and  I  ask  this  !  these  men  be  your  equals.  You  must  not  sink 
Convention  to  manifest  its  loyalty,  not  by  them  into  a  state  of  degradation,  if  you  want 
showing  how  far  they  can  go  in  the  enactment  such  a  Union  as  I  want.  But  we  have  heard 
of  extreme  measures,  but  to  show  these  rebel-  j  men  here  say  that  they  did  not  want  it  in  that 
lious  men  that,  although  we  have  the  power  to  way  ;  we  have  heard  men  say  that  if  we  do  not 


punish  them,  we  can  afford  to  be  magnani- 


mous. 


I  stood  up  here,  when  traitor?  were  in  crowds 


do  just  so,  Lincoln  will  send  a  Federal  army 
here,  and  break  up  this  Provisional  Govern- 
ment. I  hope  we  shall  hear  such  threats  as 


around  me,  and  when  my  person  was  in  dan-  these  no  more.  I  did  not  vote  for  Lincoln, 
ger,  and  advocated  loyalty  to  the  Government;  but  I  am  for  him  to  day,  because  he  is  for  his 
an<l  if  everybody  else  had  taken  that  kind  of  a  country.  Jackson  and  Clay  were  not  friendly, 
stand,  to-day  things  would  have  been  different.  '  politically ;  but  when  Jackson  attempted  to  put 
But  some  of  the  best  Union  men  in  this  Con- ;  down  the  rebellion  brought  on  by  Calhoun, 
vention  were  in  favor  of  acknowledging  the  in- '  Henry  Clay  and  Webster  were  with  Jackson, 
dependence  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  and  gave  him  their  united  support  until  the  re- 
advocated  it  in  public  speeches  at  that  time,  bellion  was  put  down;  and  so  weought  to  give 
and  they  were  as  good  Pnion  men  as  I  am.  !  Lincoln  our  support  until  he  has  put  down  this 
But  these  very  same  individuals  are  now  in  fa-  j  rebellion.  I  have  no  fears  that  he  will  attempt 
vor  of  these  restrictive  measures.  Mr.  Presi-  to  subvert  this  Government.  Now,  if  these 
dent,  I  have  seen  a  growing  disposition  to  rad-  men  are  guilty  of  anything,  I  say  punish  them, 
icalism  ever  since  this  rebellion  commenced.  :  If  you  have  not  got  laws  with  punishment 
I  do  not  doubt  the  loyalty  of  this  body  of  men,  strong  enough,  I  will  help  you  to  make  them ; 
nor  do  I  throw  reflections  upon  its  action.  But  but  do  not  disfranchise  and  degrade  them. 


I  a?k  you  here  to  day  to  reflect  upon  what  is 
here  proposed.  I  have  taken  a  position  I  be- 
lieve to  be  rijjht,  and  I  expect  to  stand  by  it. 
Why,  sir,  we  have  had  rebellions  in  this  Gov- 
ernment before  to-day.  There  was  the  whisky 
rebellion  under  the  admiaistration  of  Wash- 


Now,  Mr.  President,  I  am  willing  to  take 
any  oath  that  is  reasonable.  I  suppose  it  is 
well  enough  to  require  all  civil  officers  to  take 
if,  because  we  can  enforce  the  laws  only  when 
the  officers  of  the  court  are  loyal  and  i  egard  an 
oath.  But  here  is  my  old  friend  whom  w« 


have  appointed  Chaplain.  Suppose  he  goes 
forth  and  promulgates  rebellion.  His  head  is 
silvered  over  with  the  frosts  of  many  winters ; 
and  do  you  believe  any  oa'h  we  could  prescribe 
would  make  him  a  better  man  ?  Why,  it  would 
be  useless  to  make  a  man  take  this  oath  who 
would  thus  disregard  his  calling.  I  understand 
that  it  has  been  the  policy  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  to  allow  every  individual 
to  enjoy  their  own  religious  opinions;,  and  I 
am  unwilling  to  do  the  first  solitary  act  that 
will  interfere  with  the  right  of  conscience  in 
religious  matters.  If  a  darkey  comes  here  from 
St.  Louis  to  preach  to  the  negroes,  I  am  un- 
willing to  debar  him  from  the  privilege.  He  is 
a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  and  has  the  right  to 
preach,  as  I  understand  it. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  ask  whether  the  darkey 
would  discharge  any  duties  under  the  laws  of 
this  State?  The  section  provides  that  they 
shall  not  exercise  their  civil  functions  unless 
they  take  this  oath. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  ask  of  the  gentleman  if  the  laws 
of  God  apply  to  this  State  ?  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  The  laws  of  God  are  not 
the  laws  of  the  State. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  think  I  have  said  enough-.  I 
ask  you  whether  we  can  expect  to  put  down 
this  rebellion  by  any  such  extreme  measure  as 
this? 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  desire  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  ray  friend  to  two  things  in  this  ordi- 
nance, very  briefly,  which  I  think  he  misunder- 
stood. All  that  part  of  bis  remarks  which 
relates  to  acts  in  the  past  were  wholly  inappli- 
cable to  this  ordinance.  This  ordinance  does 
not  punish  any  man  whatever;  it  makes  no 
distinction  between  men.  It  does  not  prescribe 
anything  for  the  most  active  aider  aud  abettor 
of  treason  in  Missouri,  which  it  does  not  pre- 
scribe to  me  and  every  other  loyal  practitioner 
in  this  State.  It  does  nothing  in  the  world 
except  this :  It  says  to  all  men  who  propose  to 
live  under  the  laws  of  this  State — to  all  men 
whose  avocations  are  prescribed,  recognized, 
and  authorized  by  the  civil  law — it  says  to 
them,  "  this  civil  law  will  not  protect  you  in 
your  avocations  unless  you  are  willing  to  say 
that  you  will  ever  bear  allegiance  to  this  Gov- 
eminent  hereafter."  It  makes  no  inquiry  at 
all  as  to  the  past.  At  the  last  session  of  the 
United  States  Court  in  St.  Louis,  the  distin- 
guished judges  of  that  Court  considered  them- 
selves fully  authorized  and  required  to  have 
every  officer,  beginning  with  themselves,  take 
and  subscribe  to  an  oath,  which  is  nearly 


verbatim,  I  think,  with  the  one  in  this  section  5 
and  in  doing  so,  they  thought  proper  to  state 
elaborately  why  they  did  so.  They  recollected 
the  fact  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  prescribed  an  oath  requiring  all  civil 
officers  in  each  State  to  support  the  Constitution, 
of  the  United  States  j  and  their  very  first  act 
was  to  prescribe  an  oath,  substantially  the 
same  as  the  one  in  this  ordinance,  for  them- 
selves ;  and  this  action  was  taken  on  the  ground 
that  notwithstanding  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  prescribed  an  oath  for  all  civil 
officers,  yet  its  true  meaning,  in  consequence  of 
the  familiarity  of  the  public  mind  with  it,  had,, 
to  a  certain  extent  been  lost  sight  of,  and  in 
these  times  it  was  proper  to  prescribe  an  oath 
with  a  due  regard  to  the  public  law,  which 
would  require  of  a  man  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
protection  of  this  Government,  to  declare 
before  God  his  willingness  to  bear  true  alle- 
giance to  that  Government^ 

Now,  it  seems  to  me  this  is  the  trite  state  of 
the  case:  There  is  »ot  a  particle  of  retrospec- 
tive action  nor  distinction,  and  nothing  in  the 
nature  of  a  discrimination,  between  any  class 
of  men.  Why,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  is  not 
every  man  in  the  community  required  to  take 
this  oath  ?  I  think  a  moment's  consideration- 
will  suggest  the  reason.  It  has  already  been 
said  that,  in  the  administration  of  justice,  it  is- 
manifestly  necessary  that  those  entrusted  with 
that  duty  should  be  loyal  citizens  to  the  Gov- 
ernment. This  is  a  matter  which.  I  need  not 
remark  on — that  unless  grand  jurors  are  loyal 
they  will  not  induct  prisoners;  that  unless  petit 
jurors  are  loyal  tbcy  will  not  convict ;  that 
unless  lawyers  are  loyal  we  cannot  expect  them 
to  administer  law  in  the  spirit  of  allegiance. 
Now,  I  will  state  simply  this  proposition,  and 
I  appeal  to  the  candid  sense  of  every  man  here. 
Other  gentlemen  have  said,  whose  means  of 
information  are  wider  than  mine,  and  my  friend 
agreed  in  that  statement,  that,,  as  a  class,  it  is  a 
melancholy  fact  that  many,  very  many  of  those 
who  claim  to  be  ambassadors  of  God,  have 
withdrawn  their  attention  from  those  duties- 
which  require  them  to  preach  "peace  on  earth 
and  good  vtill  to  men,'5  and  have  so  far  for- 
gotten that  injunction  as  to  encourage  the 
unhappy  differences  of  the  times.  Is  it  unwise,, 
therefore,  when  we  remember  the  wide  and 
powerful  influence  which  these  men  exert  in 
their  calling — is  it  unfair,  unjust,  or  unwise,, 
that,  in  so  far  and  no  farther  as  they  are 
authorized  to  perform  the  civil  functions  of  this- 
State,  we  should  ask  of  them  a  recognition  o£ 


167 


their  duty  to  the  law  ?  I  think  not,  Mr.  Pres- 
ident. Surely  the  gentleman  was  not  in  earnest 
whpn  he  said  this  or  that  man  would  be  pre- 
vented from  preaching,  unless  he  would  take 
the  oath.  It  has  been  expressly  pointed  out 
that,  in  reference  to  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
this  section  disqualifies  them  only  in  their 
avocations,  under  the  laws  of  this  State  ;  and  I 
take  it  that  every  man  who  knows  anything 
about  the  matter,  knows  that,  as  far  as  preach- 
ing the  Gospel  is  concerned,  the  laws  do  not 
recognize  that  function,  except  so  far  as  the 
right  to  perform  matrimony  is  concerned. 
Now,  if  they  desire  to  continue  in  the  perform- 
ance of  this  duty,  we  ask  of  them,  as  we  ask 
of  lawyers  and  school  teachers,  that  they  shall 
not  set  up  their  claim  for  protection  unless 
they  are  willing  hereafter  to  render  allegiance. 
In  regard  to  school  teachers,  we  ask  that  the 
same  principle  apply  to  them.  The  laws  of  the 
State  recognize  their  civil  functions,  and  all  we 
ask  in  return  is  that  they  shall  acknowledge 
their  allegiance.  We  ask  that  they,  into  whose 
hands  we  commit  the  education  of  the  young, 
and  the  duty  of  moulding  the  youthful  mind 
— a  work  as  silent  as  the  dews  of  heaven,  and 
no  less  fruitful — we  ask — and  there  is  a  mani- 
fest propriety  in  the  request — that  they  shall 
first  of  all  acknowledge  true  allegiance  to  their 
Government.  I  desired  especially  to  correct 
the  misunderstanding  of  my  friend,  and  to  show 
that  there  is  no  retrospective  action  and  no 
punishment  here  proposed. 

The    Convention    then    adjourned    until   2 
o'clock. 


AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

Met  at  2  p.  M. 

Mr.  ALLEN.  There  has  been  a  good  deal 
said,  sir,  with  reference  to  this  amendment, 
and  I  propose  to  make  a  remark  or  two  in 
reference  to  it,  and  give  you  the  reasons  at  least 
why  I  shall  support  the  amendment  offered  by 
the  gentleman  from  Greene.  I  cannot  see  what 
good  is  to  be  accomplished  by  requiring  an  oath 
of  this  kind  from  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  If 
ever  there  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  this 
rebellion  when  preachers  and  school  teachers 
should  be  required  to  take  an  oath,  that  time 
has  passed.  Gentlemen  say  that  no  loyal  man 
will  object  to  it.  This  thing  of  swearing  men 
ought  to  have  some  bounds  to  it.  Men  have 
been  sworn  all  over  the  country  j  and  I  believe 
all  the  preachers  in  the  State  who  have  been 


suspected  have  been  already  arrested  and  re- 
quired to  take  the  oath,  and  it  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  repeat  the  operation.  If  there  is  any 
good  reason  for  requiring  ministers  to  take  that 
oath  before  solemnizing  the  rites  of  matrimony, 
is  there  not  as  much  reason,  or  more,  for 
requiring  the  parties  about  to  commit  matri- 
mony to  take  it  also?  One  reason,  of  some 
weight  to  those  concerned,  why  it  should  not  be 
required  of  them  is,  that  it  will  cost  each  of 
them  not  less  than  one  dollar  to  take  the  oath 
and  have  it  recorded  ;  and  they  are  the  last  class 
of  people  that  can  afford  it.  I  think  humanity, 
and  the  dignity  and  respectability  of  this  body, 
require  that  we  adopt  the  amendment. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  differ  entirely  with  the 
views  entertained  by  thu  gentlemen  from  Greene 
and  Harrison.  I  believe  if  there  is  any  one 
class  of  men  in  this  State  who  have  done  more 
mischief,  and  who  have  had  a  greater  part  in 
getting  up  and  carrying  on  the  rebellion,  than 
another,  it  is  the  preachers  themselves.  I 
consider  it  no  disrespect  for  the  preachers  of 
the  Gospel  to  take  the  oath  as  well  as  myself. 
I  believe  the  most  of  them  are  the  biggest  band 
of  traitors  of  any  in  the  State.  They  have 
been  more  dangerous,  too,  for  the  reason  that 
their  influence  is  more  extensive  in  the  church, 
with  the  ladies,  with  the  children,  and  at  camp 
meetings.  Though  I  believe  in  God,  if  I  know 
myself,  I  don't  believe  in  political  preaching. 
I  think  the  Gospel  requires  a  minister  to  preach 
Christ,  and  him  crucified — to  attend  to  his 
business  arid  let  other  people's  alone.  As  to 
the  remark  of  the  gentleman,  in  reply  to  Mr. 
McFerran,  as  to  whether  the  laws  of  God  had 
anything  to  do  with  the  people  of  Missouri,  I 
should  have  replied  that  I  thought  they  had 
before  the  rebellion  came  up,  but  the  devil  has 
had  everything  to  do  with  it  since.  [Laughter.] 
My  experience  has  been  that  these  preachers, 
especially  the  Methodist  preachers,  some  of 
whom  have  been  editors  of  newspapers,  and 
preached  not  only  from  the  pulpits  but  from 
the  press,  have  been  more  mischievous  in 
scattering  the  seeds  of  secession  than  any  other 
class  of  men.  I  don't  believe  there  is  any 
argument  in  the  appeal  made  by  the  gentleman 
from  Greene  to  the  gray  hairs  of  our  Chaplain. 
There  are  a  number  of  preachers  on  this  floor 
who,  unless  this  act  should  cut  them  off  for  acts 
under  which  they  are  and  ought  to  be  silent, 
might  again  open  their  mouths  as  heretofore. 
Some  of  them  are  under  bonds  which  ought  to 
forever  keep  them  from  again  entering  the 
pulpit ;  and  some  have  had  their  churches 


168 


closed  against  them.  A  good  preacher  is  a 
good  institution,  but  a  bad  one  is  one  of  the 
meanest  things  in  the  world,  because  he  has  the 
power  to  do  mischief — just  as  I  told  you  on  one 
occasion  about  the  devil  ;  he  was  a  bad  man, 
but  an  intelligent  man;  but  he  could  not  fool 
Christ.  He  took  him  up  on  a  hill  and  showed 
him  all  Europe,  Asia,  and  I  believe  Africa  : 
and  I  should'nt  wonder  if  he  brought  him  over 
into  Missouri  and  showed  him  a  "quarter  sec- 
tion" here.  [Laughter,  followed  by  the  fall 
of  the  gavel,  arid  a  call  to  order.  ] 

Mr.  President,  I  am  confining  myself  to  a 
comparison  between  good  and  bad  preachers, 
to  show  that  they  are  not  too  good  to  take  an 
oath.  Now,  Christ  was  the  first  preacher,  and 
inculcated  some  sentiments  of  morality;  but 
the  devil  was  of  another  stripe — he  took  Christ 
up  into  a  mountain  and  showed  him  all  the 
earth,  and  told  him  if  he  would  fall  down  and 
worship  him  he  would  give  him  half.  Now, 
Christ,  besides  being  a  good  preacher,  hap- 
pened to  be  a  better  lawyer  than  the  devil,  and 
told  him  that,  though  he  would  like  it  very 
well,  he  wanted  a  better  title  io  it  than  he  could 
give  [laughter]  ;  and  said  he  :  "It  is  my  opin- 
ion that  you  don't  own  a  foot  of  it;  and  you 
must  get  out  of  this.  [Increased  laughter,  and 
another  call  to  order.] 

When  preachers  attempt  to  be  bad  men,  and 
are  such  naturally,  they  slip  in  under  sheep's 
clothing,  and  are  the  most  dangerous  people  in 
the  world.  As  they  have  an  immense  influence 
in  every  community,  I  think  they  should  be 
required  to  come  forward,  like  other  influential 
men,  and  take  the  same  oath  not  to  preach 
treason. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  if  I  am  out  of  order, 
just  let  me  know,  and  I  will  get  up  a  new  plat- 
form and  start  afresh,  for  I  am  not  of  that  class 
of  men  who  stand  on  two  platforms  at  the  same 
time.  I  hope  there  is  no  disposition  on  the 
part  of  any  member  here  to  favor  any  class  of 
men  in  order  to  get  their  influence  and  their 
votes.  I  know  preachers  who  have  great  in- 
fluence with  the  ladies,  and  who  used  to  join 
with  them  in  sticking  out  little  secesh  flags 
from  windows  whenever  companies  of  traitors 
came  home  ;  or  they  would  be  the  first  to  pre- 
sent a  buoquet,  or  something  of  the  kind.  I 
don't  think  it  will  hurt  any  preacher  to  take 
the  oath.  There  are  some  men  out  of  whom 
you  can't  get  secession  except  by  putting  a  rope 
around  their  necks  and  choking  it  out  of  them. 
And  this  would  have  another  good  result;  it 
would  prove  that  hemp  is  some  king  as  well  as 


cotton.  Being  out  of  order,  I  think  you  will 
thank  me  for  the  attention  I  have  given  you 
and  myself  on  this  occasion  ;  and  I  will  reserve 
further  remarks  for  another  time.  [Laughter 
and  applause.] 

Mr  BIRCH.  I  desire  to  offer  this  proviso, 
which  I  will  read  for  information.  "Provided, 
that  those  persons  who  have  heretofore  t;iken 
the  oath  prescribed  by  General  Hallock,  at  the 
instance  of  the  Goveinor  of  Mis-ouri,  shall  be 
exempt  from  the  operation  of  this  section."  I 
shall  vote  against  the  motion  to  strike  out, 
because  I  believe  if  there  be  any  necessity  for 
an  oath  at  all,  it  should  be  applied  to  preachers. 
I  may  as  well  say  I  shall  vote  against  the  whole 
bill  as  being  wholly  impracticable.  I  shall 
limit  myself,  however,  at  this  time,  to  a  mere 
defence  of  that  much  erring,  yet  moj-t  grossly 
and  vulgarly  abused  class  of  men  called  preach- 
ers. I  have  not  had  occasion  to  u>e  the  word 
" vulgar"  since  I  was  a  man,  but  when  I  hear 
ju«t  such  remaiks  made  as  have  been  made  in 
relation  to  pieachers,  I  do  not  care  to  mince 
words.  Sir,  I  happen  to  know  the  preacher 
who  has  been  referred  to.  He  is  a  man  who, 
if  he  had  cho>en  the  forum  of  debate,  or  if  he 
had  chosen  to  wear  the  sword  on  the  hip,  or 
the  practice  of  medicine,  the  law,  or  anything 
elj-e,  would  have  stood  foremost  in  his  profes- 
sion. But  he  has  chosen  instead,  and  in 
accordance  with  his  convictions,  the  meek  and 
lowly  calling  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Church  South  ;  and  I  presume 
it  is  him  to  whom  the  allusion  has  been  made 
by  the  gentleman,  that  he  knew  a  preacher  who 
had  preached  secession  and  whose  church  had 
shut  on  him.  Now,  I  happen  to  know  him 
very  intimately — and  I  will  tell  his  name,  if  I 
think  proper,  before  I  conclude — and  I  am 
happy  to  say  it  stands  as  good  as  any  other 
man's  in  the  S'ate  or  anywhere,  whether 
preacher  or  Piesident — I  know  that  gentleman 
intimately,  and  I  know  he  was  a  stationed 
preat  her  at  St.  Joseph,  until  the  closing  up  of 
his  church  by  the  military  authorities  and  his 
expuUion  to  Chillicothe,  where  he  is  now, 
plowing  with  his  own  hands. 

Mr.  President,  he  never  preached,  before  the 
rebellion,  and  has  not  yet  pie;vched— and  I 
make  myself  responsible  for  the  assertion — 
secession  in  his  pulpit.  1  will  not  say  a  word 
in  relation  to  the  specifications  against  him, 
for  I  never  hud  my  attention  called  to  them; 
but  this  gentleman  told  me  that  it  was  utterly 
untrue  that  he  had  ever  uttered  a  word  of 
secession  politics  in  his  pulpit,  and  I  make 


169 


myself  responsible  in  declaring  thathe  told  the 
truth.  He  is  not  the  man  to  speak  an  untruth, 
or  involve  his  friends  in  endorsing1  him.  I 
therefore  distinctly  assert,  in  the  plainest  lan- 
guage, that,  so  far  as  the  charge  of  preaching 
seces-ion  politics  was  meant  to  apply  to  this 
gentleman,  it  was  wholly  untrue. 
•  Mr.  STEWART.  I  wish  to  ask  one  ques- 
tion. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  will  so  far  assume  that  it  is  a 
respectful  one  as  to  yield  to  the  gentleman. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  mentioned  no  names  at 
all.  I  know  a  certain  church  was  closed;  and 
as  regards  any  personal  responsibility,  I  have 
got  as  much  of  that  sort  of  thing  as  any  other 
man. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  He  called  no  names,  but  he 
said  a  gentleman's  church  was  shut  up,  and 
there  is  only  one  Methodist  church  South  in 
St.  Joseph  ;  and  I  say  that  it  is  untrue  that  the 
pastor  of  that  church  ever  preached  secession 
politics  from  his  pulpit,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
most  sedulously  avoided  it.  I  must  do  justice 
to  that  gentleman,  as  well  as  myself.  He  is 
one  of  those  unfortunate  men,  who  in  his  heart 
of  hearts  believes— such  has  been  his  mis- 
teaching — that  a  State  has  the  constitutional 
right  to  secede,  and  hence,  in  these  troubles 
wit  h  the  South,  his  feelings  have  been  that  they 
might  win  their  independence.  I  have  had 
many  controversies,  almost  quarrels  with  him 
on  'his  subject ;  and,  I  will  not  blink  it  here,  he 
is  married  to  my  daughter,  and  seven  of  their 
children  are  mv  grand  children.  He  is,  as  I 
have  s  «id,  one  of  those  unfortunate  and  mis- 
guided men  who  believe  that  a  Siate  has  the 
right  to  secede,  and  hence  he  has  hoped  that  the 
South  might  win  their  independence  ;  but  he  is 
opposed  to  the  secession  of  Missouri.  In  all 
his  correspondence  he  has  opposed  the  seces- 
sion of  this  State,  and  especially  since  this 
Convention  ordained  the  State  of  Missouri  to 
be  in  the  Union  ;  yet,  for  some  cause,  the  mil- 
itary authorities  of  St.  Joseph  did  close  that 
gentV-tnan's  church.  I  tell  you  what  he  told 
me,  and  I  know  it  is  the  truth.  He  was  sent 
for  by  the  respectable  military  commander  of 
that  place,  and  made  his  appearance  there,  and 
inquired  why  he  had  been  ordered  to  appear. 
A  gentleman  replied  that  he  understood  he  had 
not  taken  the  oath  prescribed  by  General  Hal- 
leek. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  I  do 
not  recollect  that  my  amendment  has  anything 
to  do  with  the  character  of  any  particular 
preacher. 


Mr.  BIRCH.  I  am  sure  I  will  say  nothing 
objectionable  to  the  most  fastidious,  unless 
he  chooses  to  shut  out  the  truth.  But  I  come 
to  the  point.  He  was  notified  that  General 
Loan  had  understood  he  had  not  taken  the  oath 
prescribed  by  General  Hallnck.  "You  are 
entirely  mistaken,  gentlemen,"  he  replied,  and 
he  at  once  produced  the  oath.  He  was  dis- 
charged; but  a  short  time  afterwards  he  was 
sent  for  again,  but  I  cannot  remember  what 
transpired  well  enough  to  repeat  it.  Suffice  to 
say,  he  was  foi bidden  to  preach  in  his  pulpit, 
and  his  church  was  closed,  as  stated  by  the 
gentleman  ;  and  by  and  by  he  took  counsel  with 
me,  and  I  told  him  if  they  would  not  permit 
him  to  preach  and  pray  in  St.  Joseph,  it  would 
be  better  for  him  to  go  and  preach  and  pray 
somewhere  else,  or  come  to  rny  house.  He 
had  a  farm  in  Chillicothe,  and  he  determined 
to  move  upon  that.  I  j;ave  him  a  yoke  of 
cattle  and  a  plow,  and  other  faimirg  imple- 
ments ;  but  he  had  not  been  there  but  a  short 
time  before  a  military  order  came  foi  bidding 
him  to  preach  and  pray  there  ;  and  I  have  heard 
that  they  have  again  required  him  to  take 
another  oath ;  and  yet  he  ia  loyally  opposed  to 
the  secession  of  Missouri,  but  he  cannot  rid 
himself  of  prejudices  resulting  from  his  educa- 
tion. That  is  all  there  is  of  it.  I  now  come 
back  to  the  lemarks  of  the  gentleman,  and  his 
attack  upon  the  Southern  Methodist  Church. 
He  is  of  course  acquainted  wi'h  the  first 
dawning  of  the  troubles  in  that  church,  when 
Bit-hop  Andrew  was  expelled  at  Baltimore, 
purely  because  he  had  married  a  woman  who 
o-.vned  slaves. 

Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis.  I  have  the  greatest 
respect  for  my  friend,  as  every  one  must  see 
from  the  way  I  follow  him  in  his  perambu- 
lations about  the  House  [laughter];  but  I  ask 
the  Chnir  it'  it  is  at  all  pertinent  to  this  Con- 
vention that  he  should  recite  the  history  of  hi» 
son-in-law  ? 

Mr.  BIPCH.  I  have  not  one  word  more  to 
say  about  him.  I  am  now  speaking  of  the 
expul;-ion  of  Bishop  Andrew 

Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis.  I  cannot  see  what 
(he  Methodist  Church  has  to  do  with  this 
question.  This  proposition  is  not  to  exclude 
Methodist  preachers  any  more  than  any  others  j 
and  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Church, 
North  or  South,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
question. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  wish  to  satisfy  the  Conven- 
tion they  ought  not  to  require  a  different  sort 
of  oath  from  that  required  by  General  Halleck  ; 


170 


and  I  am  going  to  show  that  these  Northern 
preachers  inaugurated  this  thing. 

Mr.  President,  what  are  the  facts?  I  see 
there  an  aged  gentleman,  whose  society  I  have 
enjoyed  for  many  years.  If  I  should  abuse  the 
courtesy  of  my  station  here  by  denouncing  him 
and  invading  the  sanctity  of  his  hearth-stone,  by 
speaking  of  it  as  impure,  and  all  that,  that 
aged  man  would  strike  me  to  the  earth,  or  do 
his  utmost  to  do  it.  He  is  technically  the 
aggressor,  and  before  a  court  would  be  fined  for 
assault  and  battery  ;  but,  morally,  the  man  who 
steps  forward  and  denounces  him  is  the  really 
guilty  party.  Hence,  sir,  in  that  connection, 
these  Northern  preachers  are  the  ones  who  have 
fired  up  these  men  at  the  South,  and  induced 
them  to  engage  in  rebellion. 

Since  1796,  commencing  with  Osgood,  Parish, 
and  others  belonging  to  the  fanatical  school  of 
preachers  in  the  North,  the  fulminations  of  the 
Northern  pulpit  have  been  directed  against  the 
institution  of  slavery.  Northern  preachers 
have  denounced  all  association  with  slave-hold- 
ing men  ;  and,  in  the  very  words  of  the  historian 
of  that  period,  Mathew  Carey,  "their  preaching 
has  tended  to  incite  southern  slaves  to  rise  and 
massacre  their  masters." 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order, 
and  I  would  like  to  have  it  decided,  as  there 
has  been  several  points  of  order  in  relation  to 
this  discussion.  Now,  I  see  nothing  in  the 
amendment  proposed,  or  in  the  original  section 
as  it  stands,  that  would  authorize  the  dragging 
in  of  the  slavery  question  or  the  division  of 
the  Methodist  Church.  I  do  think,  sir,  that  to 
give  so  much  latitude  to  debate  there  will  be 
no  end  to  our  discussions.  I  see  no  injustice 
that  will  be  done  to  the  gentleman  who  has 
been  so  eloquently  addressing  the  House,  in 
simply  putting  a  stop  to  this  latitude  of  debate. 
I  desire  to  know,  in  this  connection,  also, 
whether  this  pestiferous  slavery  question  is  to 
drive  out  all  other  questions. 

Mr.  BIBCH.  I  ask  the  gentleman  to  call  to 
order  the  men  who  provoked  these  replies. 

Mr.  McFERKAN.  I  did  not  understand  the 
gentleman  from  Buchanan  (Mr.  Stewart)  as 
making  any  allusion  to  the  slavery  question. 
While  the  gentleman  confined  himself  to  a 
defence  of  the  man  whose  church  was  closed, 
I  made  no  objection. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  I  will  state  to  the 
gentleman  that  the  amendment  he  has  offered 
provides  for  applying  an  oath  to  all  ministers 
of  the  Gospel.  The  gentleman  from  Greene 
moves  to  strike  out  that  portion  ;  and  the  ques- 


tion, I  presume,  would  be  on  the  impropriety 
or  propriety  of  ministers  taking  that  oath.  The 
Chair  does  not  like  to  prescribe  how  far  a  man 
can  go  in  the  discussion  of  a  question,  and  I 
can  only  put  th^  question  to  a  vote. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  will  cut  it  short,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, by  no  longer  dwelling  upon  it.  I  have 
sufficiently  noted  the  primary  course  of  all. 
these  troubles  ;  and  I  believe  to-day  that  if  (he 
calumnious  and  incendiary  voices  of  political 
preachers  and  fanatics  could  be  stopped, 
everything  would  soon  again  come  right  of 
itself.  I  have  but  repeated  these  views,  how- 
ever, as  a  reason  why  I  have  always  been  dis- 
posed, as  the  records  of  this  Convention  will 
show,  to  deal  as  forbearantly  and  as  gently  as 
possible  with  those  (whether  in  or  out  of  the 
church)  who  have  been  exasperated  or  misled 
beyond  the  boundary  of  strict  loyalty,  and  who 
are  now  disposed,  in  good  faith,  to  co-oper;ite 
with  the  rest  of  us  in  the  restoration  of  the 
Constitution  and  the  laws. 

Mr.  SOL.  SMITH.  Mr.  President:  I  propose 
to  say  something  on  the  subject  of  this  propo- 
sition to  exclude  preachers  from  the  operations 
of  this  ordinance,  but  I  will  intrude  myself 
upon  the  attention  of  the  Convention  but  for  a 
very  few  moments. 

I  begin  by  saying  that  no  man  holds  the 
clerical  profession  in  greater  respect  than  I  do. 
I  have  the  pleasure  of  a  personal  acquaintance 
with  many  good  men  who  are  preachers ;  but 
there  are  exceptions  to  all  rules,  and  I  am  sorry 
to  say  that  I  have  known  some  members  of 
this  honorable  and  honored  profession  who 
were  not  exactly  what  they  ought  to  be — who, 
in  fact,  "  Stole  the  livery  of  Heaven  to  serve 
the  devil  in." 

I  consider  this  attempt  to  exclude  preachers 
from  the  privilege  of  taking  the  oath  as  an 
attack  upon  the  reverend  fraternity,  and  I  have 
been  waiting  for  some  member  of  that  frater- 
nity, (for  I  am  told  there  are  several  on  this 
floor — I  see  one  just  waking  from  a  snooze 
upon  the  sofa  yonder — the  gentleman  from 
Andrew,  Mr.  Hudgens,  one  of  the  watchmen 
upon  the  towers  of  Zion ;  I  fear  he  has  been 
sleeping  on  his  post.)  [Laughter.]  I  say  I 
have  been  waiting  for  some  of  them  to  take  up 
the  cudgels  in  their  defence.  None  offering  to 
do  so,  it  may  not  be  improper  for  one  wbo  was 
for  thirty  years  a  member  of  a  kindred  profes- 
sion (the  stage),  to  take  the  part  of  the  black- 
coated  gentlemen  on  whom  such  a  slight  is  at- 
tempted to  be  thrown  by  my  friend  from  Greene 
(Mr.  Orr.)  Strike  out  the  clergymen  !  It 


171 


must  not  be — it  shall  not  be,  if  I  can  prevent 
it.  Let  them  take  the  oath.  Let  there  be  no 
discrimination.  It  will  do  them  good.  It  is 
said  our  worthy  Chaplain  was  the  first  man  in 
his  county  to  go  forward  and  take  the  oath — 
not  because  he  was  required  to  do  it,  but  be- 
cause he  thought  it  would  do  him  good,  besides 
setting  a  good  example.  I  am  told,  at  one 
time  the  President,  General  Scott,  and  the 
Cabinet  at  Washington,  were  in  the  habit  of 
taking  the  oath  every  day— about  11  o'clock — 
[laughter,]  and  it,  no  doubt,  did  them  good.  1 
took  it  in  St.  Louis,  (as  a  director  in  a  Savings 
Institution,)  and  I  am  quite  sure  I  am  not  any 
the  worse  for  it.  Nearly  all  our  preachers  in 
St.  Louis  took  it  frequently,  if  not  oftener. 

Our  old  Chaplain  (Mr.  Monroe)  didn't  take 
the  oath.  In  fact,  finding  he  could  not  con- 
scientiously pray  for  this  Convention  any  more, 
after  we  performed  the  decapitating  process 
upon  the  late  Governor  and  the  Legislature, 
he  went  over  to  Dixie  to  pray  for  Price  and 
his  army.  Let  other  preachers  who  cannot 
take  the  oath  follow  his  example. 

Let  them  all  take  the  oath,  or  quit  preaching 
or  marrying  people.  I  do  not  wish  a  man  to 
bless  the  union  of  a  son  of  mine  and  some 
one's  fair  daughter,  and  then  go  off  and  preach 
disunion.  I  do  not  want  a  man  to  administer 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  commem- 
morating  the  death  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  who 
came  to  preach  peace  and  good  will  to  all  here, 
and  then  go  forth  preaching  and  practising 
rebellion,  slaughter,  and  the  destruction  of 
our  Government.  Let  them  take  the  oath,  like 
other  people,  say  I. 

I  know  and  acknowledge  that  there  are  peo- 
ple, in  both  sections  of  our  country,  who  seem 
to  have  forgotten  their  sacred  calling  and  taken 
entirely  to  political  preaching.  Such  wolves 
in  sheep's  clothing  I  do  not  defend.  The  gen- 
tleman from  Clay  (Mr.  Moss),  spoke  of  a 
Dark  Cloud  which  he  saw  rising  in  the  North. 
I  have  seen  that  same  cloud.  It  is  composed 
of  the  pestiferous  breath  arising  from  three 
thousand  preachers,  who  undertook  to  take 
charge  of  public  affairs  on  the  passage  of  the 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  bill.  The  Kansas  business 
being  at  last  settled,  the  black  cloud  now  hovers 
over  the  National  Capitol  at  Washington,  and 
is  kept  in  full  size  by  the  no  less  pestilent 
breath  (and  gas)  of  radical  abolitionists  in  the 
House  and  Senate  Chamber,  Sumner,  Lovejoy, 
and  their  like,  added  to  by  the  breath  and  gas 
of  outsiders,  such  as  Wendell  Phillips,  Garri- 
son, the  ghost  of  John  Brown  ("  marching 


along,")  and  the  Devil  !  I  ought,  perhaps,  to 
have  named  the  latter  gentleman  first.  [Laugh- 
ter.] If  these  radical  abolitionists  di<i  not 
bring  on  the  war,  as  charged  here,  they  are 
undoubtedly  prolonging  it,  for  they  are  deter- 
mined to  prevent  a  peace  which  shall  bring 
back  to  us  the  Union  as  it  was.  It  is  not 
strange  that  a  counter-cloud  arose  from  the 
preachers  at  the  South.  When  cloud  meets 
cloud,  "then  comes  the  tug  of  war." 

"  Can  such  things  be, 
And  overcome  us  like  a  summer's  cloud, 
Without  especial  thunder!" 

No.  There  was  thunder.  The  first  clap 
was  heard  at  Fort  Sumpter,  and  we  have  heard 
loud  thunder  ever  since  all  round  the  horizon. 
The  last  thunderstorm  was  at  Memphis.  The 
next  will  probably  be  at  Richmond,  and  I  call 
upon  the  loyal  preachers  to  pray  that  that  may 
be  the  "  clearing  up  storm  "  We  have  had  the 
cloud  over  Missouri,  but  thanks  be  to  the  good 
Lord  and  General  Halleck,  backed  by  the  stal- 
wart arms  of  our  brave  army,  the  wealher  has 
about  cleared  up,  and  we  see  nothing  here  now 
but  a  blue  sky. 

I  say  once  more,  let  the  preachers  have  the 
privilege  of  taking  the  oath,  and  let  there  be 
no  more  treason  preached  in  Missouri.  I  con- 
clude these  disjointed  remarks  by  saying,  and 
insisting,  that  a  preacher  is  as  good  as  a  law- 
yer, a  merchant,  a  doctor,  a  farmer,  or  "  any 
other  man  " — if  he  behaves  himself.  But,  to 
make  all  sure,  let  him  take  the  oath.  I  stand 
up  for  the  preachers  and  vote  against  the  pro- 
position to  strike  them  out. 

The  question  being  on  the  adoption  of  the 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Greene,  it 
was  lost — ayes  33,  noes  33. 

On  the  question  of  the  adoption  of  the  sub- 
stitute offered  by  Mr.  McFerran,  it  was  adopt- 
ed—ayes 36,  noes  33. 

The  remaining  sections  of  the  ordinance 
having  been  also  agreed  to, 

Mr.  COMINGO  offered  a  substitute  for  the 
whole  ordinance,  which  was  not  agreed  to. 

Thereupon  the  ordinance  was  placed  on  its 
final  passage  and  passed — ayes  42,  noes  27. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS,  in  explanation  of  his  vote, 
desired  that  the  ordinance  should  cease  to  be 
in  force  after  1864. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  moved  to  re-contider  and 
to  lay  that  motion  on  the  table.  Agreed  to. 

POSTPONING    ELECTIONS. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN  moved  to  take  up  the  ordi- 
nance reported  by  the  Committee  on  Elections 


172 


to  continue  the  present  Provisional  Governmen 
in  office. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 
Mr.   MCFERRAN.      I  would  like  to  get  tin 
attention  of  the  House  while  I  briefly  discus 
the  proposition  now  before  it.     I  regard  thi 
proposition  as  of  great  importance.     The  Pro 
visional    Government  which    has  been  estab 
lished  by  this  Convention,  is  the  creature  ol 
the    Convention,   and  the    Convention   stands 
before  the  State  and  the  whole  country  as  re- 
sponsible for  it.     This  being  so,  I  desire  for  a 
short  time  to  try  and  convince  the  Convention 
that  it  is  their  duty,  and  within  their  province 
to  continue  this  Government  which  they  have 
established  until  the  next  general  election  for 
State  officers.     I  desire  to  state  here,  sir,  that 
the  objection  to  postponing  the  other  elections 
does  not  apply  to  this.     The  charge  that  has 
been  made  that  the   Convention  was  about  to 
postpone  all  elections,  and  by  doing  so  dis 
franchise  the  loyal  men  of  the   SUte,  has  no 
application  whatever  to  this  ordinance.  Under 
the    constitution  and  laws   of  this  S  ate,  the 
Govern. -r,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  Secretary 
of  State,  are  elected  every  four  years,  and  the 
ordinance    now    under    consideration   simply 
proposes  to  keep  them  in  office  until  the  expi- 
ration  of  the  term,  which  ends  in  1864.     To 
ord^r  an  election  for  these  officers  is  in  conflict 
with  the  operation  of  an  ordinance  passed  by 
this  Convention  at  its  last  session,  applying  a 
test  to  civil  officers.     Under  the  operation  of 
that  ordinance,  several  of  our  State  officers 
went  out  of  office  and  others  were  appointed 
in  their  places  for  the  residue  of  the   term. 
Hence,  ut.der  the  operation  of  this  ordinance 
passed  by  the  Convention,  the  greater  portion 
of  the  State  officers  are  in  office  for  the  residue 
of  the  term,  until  1864.     Now,  sir,  the  people 
do  not  expect,  and  there  is  no  law  of  the  State 
that  authorizes  the  people  to  elect  these  offi 
cers,   Governor,  Lieut.-Governor,  and  Secre 
tary  of  State,  at  the  next  election.     The  peo- 
ple are  not  entitled  to   vote  for  the-e  officers 
until  July,  1864,  so  that  there  is  nothing  in 
this  argument  of  disfranchising  the  loyal  voters 
of  the  State  by  postponing  the  election,  as  far 
as  it  has  reference  to  these  officers,  until  1864. 
Another  reason   for  continuing  the  officers  in 
power  during  the  residue  of  the   term  is  this. 
They  have  been  in  the  control  of  the  Provi- 
sional Government  from  its  organization  to  the 
present  time,  and  they  are  familiar  with  all  its 
details  and  with   all  its  operations.     Military 
forces  have  been  organized  and  officers  have 


been  appointed  to  command  them  by  this  Pro- 
visional   Government,    and    this    Provisional 
Government  is  familiar  with  all  the  details  and 
with  the  control  of  that  military  force  ;  and, 
in  addition  to  that,  they  are  familiar  with  the 
constitution  of  the  State  j  and  a  year's  expe- 
rience amid  the  turbulent  scenes  that  have  been 
enacted  in  that  period,  no  doubt  has  qualified 
them  for  the  better  discharge  of   their  duties 
than  could  strangers  expect  to  be.     Then,  sir, 
considering  the  present  officers  of  the  Provi- 
sional Government  are  familiar  with  the  pres- 
ent condition  of  the  State,  that  they  are  fami- 
liar with  its  civil  position  and  its  civil  author- 
ity;  considering  the  fact,  sir,  that  it  has  the 
confidence  of  the  people  of  the  State ;  consider- 
ing our  situation  as  a  State  and  what  the  effect 
would  be  in  the  event  of  a  general  election  all 
through  the  State,  and  the  exciting  scenes  that 
might  transpire, — I  hope  the   Convention,    as 
they  have  assumed  the  responsibility  of   inau- 
gurating this  Government,  will  continue  it  in 
power  during  the  residue  of  the  term.     This 
question,  gentlemen,  has  been  argued  ably  be. 
fore  the   Convention    at  the  present  session. 
I  recollect  the  speech  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Hall, 
now  absent,  and  the  members  of  the  Conven- 
'ion  doubtless  recollect  the  points  he  made  in 
discussing  this  matter.     But,  sir,  for  fear  there 
may  be  some  who  are  tender-footed,  as  it  were, 
in  relation  to  postponing  the  elections,  I  desire 
to  state  here,  that  I  am  utterly  opposed  to  the 
postponement  of  any  general   election   to  be 
lold  in  August  next.     I  desire  that  all  officers, 
;xept  those  enumerated    in    this    ordinance, 
should  be  elected   by  the  people.     There  will 
)e  a  moral  force  in  an  election  by  the  people 
of  this   State,  the  effect  of  which  cannot  be 
attained   in    any  other   way,   or  by  any  other 
means.     The   law   requires   such   an   election 
his  fall,  and  to  prevent  it  will,  perhaps,  cause 
excitement. 

Again,  sir,  it  is  returning  to  the  old  order  of 
hings  and  gettirg  back  to  the  path  which  we 
lave  all  been  accustomed  to  walk  in  in  days 
if  prosperity  and  peace.  Again,  sir,  an  elec- 
ion  for  members  of  the  Legislature  and  Con- 
gress is  local  in  its  character,  and  no  excite- 
nent  will  be  likely  to  arise.  In  this  respect 
t  will  be  essentially  different  from  an  election 
or  State  officers.  Then,  sir,  as  I  have  said,  I 
m  in  favor  of  electing  all  officers  not  enumer- 
ted  in  this  ordinance,  and  I  am  just  as  much 
n  favor  of  retaining  the  present  Provisional 
Jovernment.  There  is  no  reason  why  this 
jovernment  should  not  be  continued.  As 


173 


chairman  of  the  committee  that  reported  this  the  peiiod  for  which  Jackson  was  elected  has 
ordinance,  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  present  its  not  expired,  and  that,  under  the  Constitution, 
meriis  to  the  Convention,  and  having  done  the  the  time  has  not  arrived  for  an  election.  Sir, 
best  I  could  in  this  respect,  I  now  submit  it  it  is  singular  the  Convention  did  not  think  of 
for  the  action  of  the  Convention.  j  this  before,  when  they  were  proposing  to  get 

Mr.  Moss.  I  will  now  offer  an  amendment  back  to  the  people  and  to  the  old  order  of  things, 
to  dispense  with  all  elections  and  authoiize  I  say,  it  is  strange  that  this  constitutional  ob- 
the  Government  to  make  the  necessary  ap-  jection  did  not  present  itself  at  that  period.  It 
pointments.  I  have  already  discussed  the  nas  been  l^ft  to  the  Committee  on  Elections  to 
merits  of  this  proposition,  and  I  presume  mem-  discover  that,  there  was  no  necessity  tor  hav- 
bers  of  the  Convention  thoroughly  understand  '•  ing  an  election  for  State  officers,  but,  that  there 
it.  Every  gentleman  will  see  that  the  object  Was  a  necessity  for  having  an  election  for  a 
of  this  amendment  is  to  put  off  all  elections, !  Legislature. 

except  membeisof  Congress.  The  argument  |  Now,  Mr.  President,  either  the  people  are 
of  the  gentleman  from  Daviess  in  favor  of  keep-  ! in  a  condition  to  have  an  election,  or  they  are 
ing  the  Governor,  Lieut.-Governor,  and  Secre-  n°t  *n  such  a  condition.  If  they  are  in  a  con- 
tary  of  State  in  office,  deserves  a  passing  no-  |  dition  to  hold  an  election,  they  are  in  a  coridi- 
tice.  The  gentleman  does  not  argue  the  real  ti°n  to  elect  all  their  officers.  It  they  are  not 
merits  of  'he  proposition,  but  gets  up  and  i°  a  condition  to  hold  an  election,  they  are  not 
pleads  the  statute  of  limitation.  He  says  it  is  'n  a  condition  to  elect  any  of  their  officers,  and 
not  time  for  holding  an  election  for  State  offi- ! i<;  is  ridiculous  to  talk  about  it  in  any  other 
cers,  but  he  does  not  give  one  solitary  reas-on  !  light-  ^  is  absolutely  a  farce  for  this  Conven- 
to  this  Convention  why  an  election  should  tlon  to  undertake  to  tell  the  peopl*  that  they 
take  place  for  members  of  the  Legislature.  are  in  a  condition  to  elect  one-half  of  their 


Why,  when  this  Convention,  at  a  former  ses- 
sion, passed  an  ordinance  for  an  election  in 


officers,  and  that  they  are  not  in  a  condition  to 
elect  the  other  half.     T  am  free  to  admit  that 


August,  they  intended  to  have  an  election  in  we  are  not  ln  a  condition  to  have  an  election. 
August;  it  was  not  then  thought  wise  or  ad-  |  Tne  gentleman  talks  about  Corgressmen.  We 
viable  for  this  Convention  to  keep  any  State  cann°t  g1^  r'd  of  them,  but  I  am  in  favor  of 
officers  in  office,  and  there  was  to  be  a  general  postponing  their  election,  in  accordance  with 
election.  I  want  to  know  what  reasons  there  j the  recommendation  of  the  Governor,  until  the 
are  now  for  keeping  these  gentlemen  in  office  very  last  moment — to  a  time  when  it  is  more 
that  did  not  exist  then.  Mr.  President,  there  probable  we  can  have  a  peaceable  election. 


are  reasons  for  it,  and  the  same  reasons  which 
would  present  themselves  at  once  to  the  minds 


The  arguments  that  have  been  made  here  are 
unanswerable,  and  show  conclusively  that  the 


of   this    Convention   in  favor   of  keeping  the  ;  State  is  in  no  condition  to  have  an  election.     It 
Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  others  in   1S  doubtful  whether  there  can  be  an  election  in 


office,  will  present  themselves  with  like  force 
against  having  an  election  for  members  of  the 
Legislature.  As  I  remarked  the  other  day, 
what  are  you  saying:  to  the  people  by  this 
proposition  ?  It  is  ridiculous  and  useless  to 
talk  about  the  reasons  offered  by  the  gentleman 
from  Ddvies*,  that  thi?  is  not  the  time  for  an 
election.  What  does  this  ordinance  mean?  It 


any  of  the  counties  south  of  Jackson  ;  and  if  a 
Legislature  is  elected  it  will  be  composed,  per- 
haps, of  not  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  counties 
of  the  State  of  Missouri;  and  then  th*  condition 
of  affairs  in  two-thirds  of  those  counties  where 
they  can  h"Jd  an  election  is  such,  that  I  do  not 
believe  a  full,  free,  and  untrammeled  election 
can  take  place — such  as  the  people  would  desire 


says  you  are  in  a  condition  to  elect  members  I to  have,  and  such  as  every  man  in  favor  of 
of  the  Legislature,  but  you  are  not  in  a  con-  justice  is  desirous  of  having.     Then,  sir,  with 

one-third  of  the  counties  deprived  entirely  of 
any  representation  in  the  next  Legislature,  and 
two-thirds  that  are  not  in  a  condition  to  elect 
such  men  as  will  give  a  full  and  fair  expression 
of  the  will  of  the  people,  I  ask  you,  sir,  is  it  not 
advisable  to  postpone  all  elections,  with  all  t><e 
facts  before  us? 

Mr.  IRWIN  offered  an  amendment  authorizing 
the  Governor  to  issue  a  call  for  an  election  of 


dition  to  elect  a  Governor  and  Secretary  of 
State.  Sir,  the  people  will  see  through  this 
artifice.  The  gentleman  who  is  chaiiman  of 
that  committee  has  undertaken  to  present  to 
this  Convention  a  reason  for  thh  action,  but 
what  is  it  ?  It  is  no  reason  in  the  woild  affect- 
ing the  merits  of  the  question,  but  simply  a 
question  of  time.  He  says  it  is  not  the  time 
to  elect  a  Governor.  I  presume  he  means  that 


1T4 


members  of  the  Legislature,  if  at  any  time  it 
may  be  deemed  necessary. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  Whatever  action  there 
may  be  with  reference  to  the  election  of  State 
officers,  it  is  clear  to  my  mind  that  it  is  essential 
that  we  should  have  a  legislative  election.  I 
have  conversed  with  some  gentlemen  whose 
opinions  would  have  great  weight  if  I  could 
mention  their  names,  and  I  have  yet  to  hear 
from  these  gentlemen  most  directly  conversant 
with  the  matter,  any  expression  of  opinion 
other  than  that  the  interests  of  the  State  abso- 
lutely require  that  there  should  be  an  election 
of  a  Legislature  to  meet  at  the  regular  term. 
There  are  many  subjects  of  legislation  which 
this  Convention  could  not  act  upon,  except  by 
spending  weeks  and  months  here.  I  know  in 
some  portions  of  the  State  it  would  be  difficult 
to  have  an  election,  but  it  is  probable  that  those 
difficulties  will  be  modified  or  removed  by  the 
time  this  election  comes  off. 

Mr.  PIPKIN.  Have  you  been  in  southeast 
Missouri,  arid  do  you  believe  we  could  have  an 
election  ? 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  have  no  doubt  you 
can  have  an  election  at  the  time  the  election  is 
held. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  The  gentleman  from  Clay 
has  offered  as  an  amendment  the  ordinance 
that  was  reported  by  the  minority  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Elections,  and  the  subject  has  been 
fully  discussed  and  argued  before  this  body. 
This  ordinance  was  offered  originally  as  a 
peace  offering,  or  rather  as  the  best  project,  in 
my  estimation,  for  harmonizing  the  country. 
Since  we  have  met  here  this  project  has  been 
introduced,  and  the  attention  of  the  country 
has  been  called  to  it;  and  I  have  seen  various 
letters  from  different  portions  of  the  State,  and 
from  gentlemen  of  high  intelligence — whose 
opinions  are  entitled  to  the  gravest  considera- 
tion, and  whose  loyalty  cannot  and  will  not  be 
disputed  by  any  gentleman  in  this  Convention 
— urging  upon  this  Convention  the  adoption  of 
that  policy,  and  a  postponement,  for  the  present, 
of  all  elections.  Now,  sir,  the  amendment  as 
offered  by  the  gentleman,  and  reported  by  the 
minority  of  the  Committee  on  Elections  ori- 
ginally, contemplates  a  general  election  for 
members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  August,  1864 ;  but,  for  one,  sir,  I 
am  not  wedded  to  that  time.  I  am  wedded  to 
no  particular  time.  I  have  but  one  object  to 
attain  by  this  policy,  and  that  is  the  restoration 
of  peace  throughout  the  country ;  and  I  believe 
that  this  will  be  the  best  policy  to  promote 


peace  in  the  country,  as  we  cannot  tell  what  a 
few  months  may  develope,  or  what  may  be  the 
condition  of  the  country  at  the  expiration  of  a 
few  months.  I  therefore  concur  fully  in  the 
character  of  the  amendment  that  has  been  sug- 
gested by  my  friend  upon  the  left,  to  leave  the 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  Governor,  and  to 
authorize  him,  whenever  he  may  think  the 
public  exigencies  require,  to  order  an  election 
for  members  of  the  General  Assembly.  Sir,  I 
voted  originally  for  Governor  Gamble  ;  I  had 
confidence  in  the  purity  and  patriotism  of  that 
high  functionary,  and  I  have  seen  nothing  in 
his  course  to  shake,  in  the  slightest  degree,  the 
confidence  I  then  had  in  him  ;  and  I  am  willing 
to  trust  with  him  the  authority  which  the 
amendment  confers  upon  him.  I  therefore  hope 
my  friend  from  Clay,  who  has  proposed  the 
ordinance  which  I  introduced  originally,  will 
accept  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman 
from  Shelby,  (Mr.  Irwin.) 

The  amendment  was  accepted. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  It  may  be  remembered 
that  1  was  of  the  minority  who  dissented  both 
from  the  report  of  this  committee,  and,  as  an 
individual,  from  the  minority  report  of  the 
committee.  Of  course,  Mr.  President,  the  only 
thing  1  have  desired  to  ascertain  in  reference  to 
this  matter  is  what  is  best  for  the  interests  of 
the  State.  We  are  told  that  the  condition  of 
the  State  is  such  that  it  will  not  be  possible  to 
have  a  safe  election.  If  that  is  true,  that  ends 
the  question  ;  there  is  no  doubt  of  that.  I  have 
carefully  made  such  inquiry  as  I  could  on  this 
subject.  I  have  conversed  with  a  number  of 
members  and  gentlemen  from  different  parts  of 
the  State,  and  it  seems  to  me  the  fact  is  about 
this  :  that  in  some  parts  of  the  State  which  are 
infested  with  guerrillas,  it  would  be  dangerous 
and  difficult  to  hold- an  election.  It  is  not  dis- 
puted, on  the  other  hand,  that  in  a  large  part 
of  the  State  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in 
holding  an  election.  Then,  the  question  is, 
even  admitting  the  correctness  of  the  difficulty 
of  holding  an  election  in  some  portions  of  the 
State,  whether  these  portions  are  of  sufficient 
consideration  to  justify  the  postponement  of  all 
elections.  In  addition  to  this,  the  proposition 
laid  down  by  the  gentleman  from  Randolph 
(  Mr.  HalH  struck  me  with  great  force,  namely  : 
that  it  was  exceedingly  desirous  that  at  the 
earliest  practicable  day  the  people  of  the  State 
should  be  invited  to  resume  the  exercise  of 
their  former  civil  rights — the  loyal  people  of 
the  State,  sir — for  the  purpose  of  engaging 
them  in  the  habitual  and  customary  exercise  of 


175 


these  rights,  and  of  taking  their  minds  off  from 
the  rebellion  as  much  as  possible,  and  thereby 
bringing  the  State  back  to  its  position  before 
the  rebellion  as  nearly  as  possible.  There  is, 
to  my  mind,  great  weight  in  that  argument; 
and,  in  addition  to  that,  sir,  as  I  said  the  other 
day,  I  am  persuaded  that  the  vital  interests  of 
tin1  State  require  legislation,  and  that  we  are 
shut  up  absolutely  to  one  of  two  propositions 
— ei  her  that  the  Legislature  shall  be  elected  at 
the  earliest  expedient  day,  to  take  into  consid- 
eration the  local  and  general  interests  of  the 
State,  or  that  this  Convention  shall  make  up  its 
mind  to  meet  again  for  the  purpose  of  acting 
as  a  Legislature.  One  of  these  two  things,  I 
am  convinced,  we  must  decide  upon.  Now,  as 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  1  am  averse  to  entering 
into  any  career  of  legislation.  We  have  had 
masters  of  local  legislation  pressed  before  us, 
and  declined  to  act  upon  them.  We  know  it  is 
difficult  to  enter  into  the  details  of  legislation, 
or  into  a  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  the 
people,  and  that  we  are  not  properly  qualified 
to  assume  the  functions  of  a  Legislature.  It  is, 
perhaps,  not  improper  in  me  to  say,  that  in  a 
recent  conversation  with  the  Governor  I  became 
satisfied  that  it  is  his  opinion,  that,  if  it  is  safe 
and  practicable,  a  Legislature  ought  to  be 
elected  ;  and  that  it  is  his  belief,  on.  the  best 
information  he  can  obtain,  that,  at  least  in  nine- 
tenths  of  the  State,  it  is  practicable  to  hold  an 
election.  I  use  the  words  he  made  use  of  to 
me  :  "  It  is  of  the  first  importance  that  a  Legis- 
lature should  be  elected,"  for  the  sake  of 
attending  to  the  interests  of  the  kind  I  have 
mentioned,  and  for  the  sake  of  attending  to 
other  highly  important  interests.  Take  for 
instance  the  railroads.  The  gentleman  from 
Monroe  said,  the  other  day,  that  there  was  no 
sort  of  necessity  for  legislating  aboutrailroads. 
Now,  we  know  that  our  railroads  are  forfeited, 
and  th.it  the  Governor  has  the  power  to  sell 
them.  It  is  true  the  Governor  has  the  power 
to  sell  them  for  cash ;  but  suppose  it  should  be 
practicable  to  sell  these  roads  for  Missouri 
State  bonds ;  suppose  that  by  a  sale  of  them 
we  could  take  up  $12,000,000  of  Missouri  State 
bonds  ;  would  it  not  be  an  object  for  us  to  con- 
sider the  practicability  of  such  a  scheme?  I 
arn  putting  a  case  hypothetically,  but,  as  I  am 
informed  on  good  authority,  not  without  reason. 
And  so  with  regard  to  the  other  important  in- 
terests of  the  State  which  demand  legislative 
action  of  some  kind,  and  which,  unless  a  Legis- 
lature acts  upon  them,  we  must  act  upon  them. 
Now,  I  am  wholly  opposed  to  having  this 


Convention  (already  having  lasted  longer  than 
any  of  its  members  expected,  and  desiring  as 
we  all  do  to  return  the  power  which  has  been 
entrusted  to  us)  declare  that  it  will  undertake 
a  year  or  two  longer  to  manage  these  things, 
and  reconcile  the  clashing  interests  that  will 
necessarily  arise  in  matters  of  legislation. 

Now,  in  regard  to  the  election  of  Governor 
we  have  heard  various  arguments.  I  say, 
frankly,  for  myself  I  am  at  a  loss  to  decide 
the  question.  I  am  for  a  Legislature  most 
decidedly,  and  I  was  not  willing  to  join 
in  the  report  of  the  committee  in  favor  of  post- 
poning all  elections.  The  more  important 
question  was  the  one  I  have  discussed  as  to 
the  difficulty  which  some  gentlemen  have  sug- 
gested of  sending  information  through  the 
State;  so  that,  if  it  be  practicable  in  any  sense, 
it  should  be  practicable  to  hold  an  election 
throughout  the  whole  State.  I  think  there  may 
be  force  in  that,  and  I  am  willing  to  postpone 
the  election  until  some  time  in  the  Fall.  As  I 
have  said,  I  cannot  consent  to  postpone  the 
election  of  a  Legislature  beyond  the  period  I 
have  named  ;  but  in  regard  to  the  election  of  a 
Governor,  there  is  more  difficulty,  and  I  have 
not  yet  decided  what  will  be  the  proper  course 
in  this  respect.  Besides  the  reasons  I  have 
given  for  the  election  of  a  Legislature,  there 
is  another  reason.  The  appropriation  bill  pass- 
ed by  the  last  Legislature  expires  the  present 
year.  Some  appropriations,  I  am  informed, 
have  already  been  exceeded,  and  somebody 
has  got  to  come  together  and  pass  appropria- 
tion bills,  otherwise  none  of  the  expenses  of 
the  State  can  be  paid  at  all.  I  take  it  gentle- 
men will  consider  these  facts,  and  realize  the 
necessity  of  an  election  for  the  Legislature. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  take  it  for  granted  that 
this  Convention  was  called  together  for  a  spe- 
cial purpose,  and  that  was  to  decide  the  relations 
which  existed  between  the  State  of  Missouri 
and  the  Federal  Government,  and  I  take  it  also 
that  it  was  called  together  to  expatriate  about 
the  biggest  traitor  on  earth — Mr.  C.  F.  Jack- 
son. He  undertook  to  carry  this  State  out  of 
the  Union ;  he  failed  to  do  it,  because  there 
were  loyal  men  enough  in  the  State,  and  in  the 
Legislature  then  assembled,  to  prevent  it.  His 
object  was  to  get  a  Convention  to  pass  an 
ordinance  of  secession.  But  the  people  of  this 
State  decided,  by  nearly  100,000  majority,  that 
it  was  against  the  interests  of  the  State  to  go 
out  of  the  Union.  In  the  first  place,  secession 
was  a  heresy.  There  was  no  provision  made 
in  the  Constitution  which  recognized  secession  ; 


176 


and  beside,-  tint,  all  our  local  interests  and  our 
geographical  position  in  the  centre  of  the  con- 
tinent were  all  againa.  separating  ourselves 
from  the  Union.  But  those  infernal  dema- 
gogue?, overlooking  the  interests  of  the  State, 
and  desirous  only  of  their  own  personal  ad- 
vanc-m^nt,  thought  proper  to  take  the  State 
out  or  the  Union.  They  got  together  in  extra 
session  and  attempted  to  pass  a  secession  law  ; 
but  the  peop'e  gi>t  together  in  Convention  and 
decided  they  would  remain  in  the  Union,  and 
they  elected  a  Provisional  Government  for  that 
purpose.  'Ih-yhad  no  other  object  in  view, 
except  to  keep  the  State  in  the  Union.  Now, 
I  see  n*>  particular  necessity  why  we  are  bound 
to  run  th  »t  machine  any  longer  than  is  actually 
required.  I  recognize  the  fact  that  we  put  out 
Jackson  arid  his  cohorts  because  they  were 
traitors;  and  the  Piovisional  Government  was 
only  put  in  as  a  matrer  of  expediency,  and  I 
can  see  no  retson  why  thit  engine  should  run 
any  longer.  Such  a  thing  might  happen,  as 
that  they  would  appoint  their  own  sons  ;  they 
might  out  in  secessionists,  who  would  ride  over 
Union  m^n  ;  nnd  I  see  no  reason  why  we  should 
not  vote  to  exclude  the  whole  concern.  I  do 
not  want  an  institution  that  will  get  on  one 
side  of  the  fence  and  peep  on  the  other,  so  that 
you  can't  tell  whether  it  will  come  out  heads 
or  tails.  I  do  not  want  to  see  any  milk  and 
water  policy  pursued. 

There  are  some  leading  traitors  in  this  State 
that  ought  to  be  killed,  and  the  best  thing  we 
could  do  would  be  to  hang  them.  I  know  ihat 
perhaps  this  may  shock  the  sensibilities  of  a 
certain  class  of  men.  I  recollect  I  was  arrested 
in  St.  Louis  for  offering  a  resolution  that  the 
President  be  instructed  to  organize  guerrillas 
in  this  State  to  kill  the  infernal  bushwhackers. 
But  this  rebellion  has  got  to  be  put  down  any- 
how ;  and  the  sooner  we  set  ourselves  to  work, 
and  use  the  means  that  have  been  placed  in  our 
power  to  put  it  down,  the  better  it  will  be  for 
us  in  the  end. 

Mr.  ALLEN.  I  expect,  sir  to  vote  for  the 
amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Clay  > 
and  I  desire  to  state  my  reasons.  I  have  but 
one  objection  to  the  postponement  of  the  elec- 
tions, and  that  I  find  to  be  the  perpetuation  of 
this  body.  But  we  are  to  look  at  the  interests 
of  our  country  ;  and  I  do  believe  it  would  be  for 
the  interest  of  the  country  that  the  officers  of 
the  Provisional  Government,  elected  by  this 
Convention,  should  be  permitted  to  serve  out 
the  full  time  for  which  Jackson  was  elected. 
Under  the  administration  ot  these  officers,  the 


Provisional  Government  inaugurated  by  this 
Convention  has  prospered.  It  has  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Government  at  Washington,  and 
it  has  the  confidence  of  the  loyal  men  of  the 
State  of  Missouri ;  and,  as  has  been  declared 
here,  it  is  growing  in  favor  continually  with  the 
people  throughout  the  State.  I  am,  therefore, 
in  favor  of  continuing  this  Government  in 
power,  and  of  postponing  all  elections  until 
1864.  It  is  true,  as  the  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis  remarked,  that  in  all  probability  the 
State  will  require  some  legislation  in  relation 
to  its  financial  condition,  but  it  seems  to  me  we 
can  get  along  with  a  very  little  legislation.  The 
appropriations  which  will  be  necessary  to  be 
made,  can  be  made  by  the  Convention ;  and  I 
am  satisfied  of  one  thing,  that  it  will  be  a  great 
saving  to  the  State  of  Missouri  if  this  election 
be  postponed,  and  if  this  Convention  do  what 
little  will  be  necessary  to  do  in  the  way  of  le- 
gislation. These  are  the  reasons  why  I  am 
induced  to  go  for  this  measure.  I  bel  eve  it  is 
for  the  Convention  to  guard  the  interests  of  the 
State,  and  to  save  to  the  State  all  it  can.  lam 
satisfied  of  one  thing,  that  only  a  partial  amount 
of  the  revenue  for  the  past  year  can  be  collected 
in  the  State.  There  are  but  a  few  counties 
that  have  paid  in  the  revenue  for  the  last  year. 
It  is  impossible  to  collect  it.  That  being  the 
fact,  it  is  for  the  interest  of  the  people  of  Mis- 
souri that  we  should  get  along  wi^fi  as  little 
expenditure  as  possible  to  the  people  of  th?  State. 
There  is  another  reason.  We  are  not  in  a 
condition  to  go  through  the  heated  canvass  of 
a  general  election  this  summer.  A  conflict  of 
elements  will  be  brought  to  bear  in  the  canvass, 
and  we  will  have  a  heated  contest  which  the 
country  is  not  at  this  time  prepared  to  endure. 
It  would  be  detrimental  to  the  interest  and  the 
peace  of  Missouri.  That  is  one  important 
reason  why  1  am  in  favor  of  postponing  the 
election.  As  I  before  remarked,  legislation  will 
be  required,  and  if  we  are  called  together  again 
for  that  purpose,  it  will  he  an  object  for  the 
Convention  to  legislate  only  for  the  interests  of 
the  State  ;  and  we  can  do  it  in  a  few  days,  at 
but  little  cost  in  comparison  to  what  a  Legisla- 
ture would  cost. 

Now,  the  gentleman  from  Buchanan,  in  his 
remarks,  said  he  was  at  rested  for  advocating 
the  raising  of  guerrilla  parties.  I  was  informed 
it  was  not  for  that  purpose.  It  was  said  he  was 
arrested  for  wearing  his  military  hat  wrong  end 
foremost.  [Merriment.] 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  I  should  not  have  risen  to 
address  this  Convention  but  for  the  amendment 


177 


offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Shelby.  There 
were  so  many  difficulties  in  relation  to  calling  ;i 
Legislature  together,  and  so  many  reasons  why 
it  should  be  called  together,  that  I  had  not 
determined  really  within  myself  which  would 
be  best  for  the  interest  of  the  State.  And  I 
admit,  sir,  that  it  had  not  occurred  to  me  that 
all  this  might  be  obviated  by  so  simple  an 
amendment  as  the  one  offered  by  the  gentleman 
from  Shelby. 

Mr.  President,  when  these  colonies  separated 
from  Great  Britain,  the  establishment  of  their 
independence  differed  in  nothing  from  revolu- 
tions which  had  occurred  everywhere  in  the 
whole  country — revolutions  which  had  sub- 
verted empires  and  dethroned  kings  ;  there  was 
nothing  in  it,  except  the  theory  as  to  whether 
man  was  capable  of  self-government.  It  is  on 
that  theory  that  our  Government  is  based.  It 
is  based  on  that  truth,  and  that  truth  is  eternal 
and  intangible.  It  is  always  true  in  theory 
that  man  is  capable  of  self-government;  but 
when  we  look  back  at  the  history  of  our  race 
for  six  thousand  years,  and  view  the  grand 
panorama,  variegated  as  it  is,  and  passing 
rapidly  before  us,  we  see  that  the  history  of 
man  has  been  but  little  else  than  a  history  of 
convulsions  and  revolutions.  Our  whole  his- 
tory, sir,  is  marked  and  scarred  all  over  with 
it,  as  visibly  as  the  surface  of  our  globe  is 
marked  and  scarred  over  with  the  convulsions 
of  nature.  We  are  now,  Mr.  President,  in  the 
midst  of  one  of  the  most  terrible  upheavals  that 
has  ever  occurred  in  any  government  in  the 
world  ;  and  that  this  rebellion  has  not  passed 
away  is  evidenced  by  the  very  ordinance  we 
have  passed  to-day.  It  is  admitted  everywhere 
that  the  rebellion  is  still  in  progress ;  and  it  is 
necessary  for  us  to  act  not  as  if  the  rebellion 
had  passed,  but  as  if  we  were  in  the  midst  of 
it.  This  very  body,  sir,  is  a  revolutionary 
body ;  and  but  for  this  rebellion  we  never  would 
have  been  called  together  or  had  existence. 
We  were  called  into  existence  for  extraordinary 
purposes,  and  we  are  clothed  with  extraordi- 
nary powers.  No  other  body,  except  one 
clothed  with  extraordinary  powers,  could 
answer  the  purposes  of  government  in  a  time 
of  revolution.  Civil  government  and  rebellion 
can  never  exist  at  the  same  time  in  the  same 
body  politic.  The  success  of  rebellion  is  the 
downfall  of  government— the  downfall  of  Con- 
stitution and  law.  The  success  of  civil  law  is 
always  the  destruction  of  rebellion.  One  or  the 
other  must  exist  and  be  paramount  in  every 
government;  both  cannot  exist  in  an  equal 

12 


degree  at  the, same  time.  We  are  in  a  state  of 
rebellion,  and  we  have  a  revolutionary  body 
here,  called  into  existence  to  meet  the  great  exi- 
gencies of  the  times ;  and  yet  gentlemen  tell  you, 
although  we  are  in  the  midst  of  this  rebellion 
to  such  an  extent  that  our  people  cannot  elect 
a  Chief  Magistrate  to  govern  it,  and  that  it  is 
unsafe  to  trust  it  to  them,  that  we  are  yet  in  a 
condition  to  elect  other  officers  for  other  pur- 
poses. Why,  Mr.  President,  is  it  so  1  It  arises 
from  one  of  two  reasons— either  that  we  have 
less  power  than  the  Legislature,  or  less  ability. 
Now,  Mr.  President,  instead  of  having  less 
power,  we  have  greater  and  more  power  than 
the  Legislature  has  for  all  purposes.  The  very 
ordinance  we  have  passed  to-day  no  Legislature 
could  pass.  No  Legislature  could  have  deposed 
Jackson  and  the  Legislature  of  the  State  ;  no 
Legislature  could  have  put  into  power  the 
present  Government ;  no  Legislature  could 
prescribe  additional  qualifications  for  repre- 
sentatives and  officers  of  the  State  and  county 
other  than  those  the  Constitution  has  given. 
But  this  Convention  is  clothed  with  a  power 
superior  to  the  Constitution  to  meet  great  crises 
that  no  Legislature  was  intended  to  meet.  We 
are  clothed  with  these  powers  for  that  purpose. 
Shall  we  lay  down  this  power  and  say  we 
cannot  discharge  the  ordinary  duties  of  legis- 
lation as  well  as  any  other  Legislature  ?  I,  sir, 
have  been  a  member  of  this  body  from  the  first, 
and  I  have  been  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
and  an  outsider  for  almost  thirty  years,  and  I 
may  be  permitted  to  say  that  this  body  is  at 
least  equal  in  the  amount  of  intelligence  to  any 
Legislature  that  ever  assembled  in  the  State  of 
Missouri.  We  have  proved  our  loyalty  to  the 
Government  and  to  the  State ;  and  are  you 
now  disposed  to  set  aside  this  body  and  elect 
one  that  you  do  not  know  what  may  be  its 
character  ?  Will  you  not  remain  at  a  safe  port 
and  anchorage,  rather  than  go  out  upon  a  wide 
sea  without  guide  or  compass,  and  without  a 
knowledge  of  the  harbor  or  port  which  you 
wish  to  reach  ?  Gentlemen  may  say  we  have 
thrown  around  the  elective  franchise  such 
guaranties  as  will  secure  a  loyal  Legislature. 
Why,  they  are  but  cobwebs.  I  may  say,  in  a 
time  of  this  sort  men  are  not  much  disposed  to 
quibble  at  oaths,  especially  those  who  regard 
this  Convention  as  having  no  power  and  no 
control  over  them. 

But,  Mr.  President,  I  hasten  to  the  point 
under  discussion.  It  is  proposed  to  give  the 
Governor  of  the  State  the  power  of  calling  the 
Legislature  whenever  he  may  think  proper. 


178 


The  whole  argument  of  the  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis  (Mr.  Hitchcock) — and  he  is  a  very  in- 
tellectual man,  and  a  very  honest  legislator — 
is  thus  disposed  of.  That  gentleman  has  told 
you  that  the  Governor  desired  a  Legislature  to 
be  called.  If  the  Governor  wants  it  and  re- 
quires it,  why,  sir,  let  the  Governor  call  it;  we 
offer  him  the  power,  and  we  have  confidence  in 
him.  Why,  sir,  the  Governor  of  this  State  has 
worked  out  the  most  arduous  and  the  most 
wonderful  problem  of  government  that  almost 
any  other  Governor  ever  wrought  in  the  worl-i. 
He  was  placed  here  when  there  was  no  gov- 
ernment, when  there  was  scarcely  any  means 
of  constructing  a  government,  when  the  State 
was  overrun  with  military  forces,  and  when 
everything  was  anarchy  and  confusion  ;  but  he 
has  bro tight  order  out  of  chaos ;  and  I  believe 
we  should  continue  him  in  power  for  the  reason 
that  he  is  the  right  man  in  the  right  place. 

Mr.  SHANKLIN.  I  do  not  rise  with  a  view 
of  replying  to  the  gentleman  who  has  just 
spoken,  but  with  a  view  of  answering  a  ques- 
tion proposed  by  the  gentleman  from  Clay 
(Mr.  Moss).  He  appealed  to  any  gentleman 
on  this  floor  to  show  him  a  reason  why  the 
election  of  Governor  should  be  postponed  and 
not  that  of  the  Legislature.  I  believe  I  have 
a  sufficiently  satisfactory  reason,  and  I  will 
state  it.  The  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
and  the  Secretary  of  State,  fill  their  offices  by 
virtue  of  appointment  by  this  Convention. 
They  are  filling  out  -the  unexpired  term,  and 
if  we  continue  them  in  office  we  continue  them 
during  the  unexpired  term.  If  we  postpone 
the  elections,  the  law  which  is  now  in  force 


providing  for  an  election  will  necessarily  have 
to  be  suspended.  I  regard  that  as  being  a  very 
important  and  satislactory  reason  why  we 
should  continue  the  one  and  not  the  other. 
Again,  here  is  another  reason.  Gentlemen  on 
this  floor  have  declared  that  it  will  not  be  safe 
during  the  present  3  ear  to  have  an  elect  on, 
while  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  election 
may  be  safely  held  in  the  greater  part  of  the 
State,  yet  we  had  better  risk  a  part  rather  than 
risk  all.  Is  it  not  more  dangerous  to  risk  all 
than  a  part1?  We  know  we  have  a  loyal  Gov- 
ernor that  is  firm,  tried,  and  true ;  and  if  we 
should  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  get  some  Seces- 
sionists in  the  Legislature,  a  loyal  Governor 
of  the  State  of  Missouri,  like  the  loyal  Gover- 
nor of  Maryland,  could  save  the  State  from 
wreck  and  ruin.  Another  point  and  lam  done. 
This  body  is  not  suitable  as  a  Legislature  to 
enter  into  the  general  legislation  of  the  State. 
Our  law  makers  have  regarded  it  as  important 
that  we  should  have  two  branches  to  our  As- 
sembly, the  one  to  revise  the  actions  of  the 
other.  Now  we  are  a  body  of  ninety-nine  men, 
and  it  is  argued,  perhaps  correctly,  that  our 
powers  are  unlimited  except  by  the  Consti'u- 
tion  of  the  United  States.  Now,  Mr.  President, 
is  it  safe  for  a  body  having  unlimited  power, 
without  the  check  of  one  House  upon  the  other, 
and  without  the  check  of  the  Executive  veto, 
is  it  safe  for  such  a  power  to  go  into  general 
legislation  ?  I  think  it  is  not,  and,  in  my 
judgment,  this  is  an  unsuitable  body  to  enter 
into  general  legislation. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned. 


NINTH   DAY. 


JEFFERSON  CITY, 
Wednesday,  June  11,  1862. 

The  Convention  met  at  9  o'clock. 

Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS  gave  notice  that  on  to-mor- 
row he  would  introduce  an  ordinance  supple- 
mentary to  the  ordinance  adopted  the  other 
day,  defining  the  qualifications  of  voters  and 
civil  officers,  limiting  the  operations  of  that 
ordinance  to  the  1st  day  of  July,  1864. 


POSTPONEMENT    OF   ELECTIONS. 

The  question  being  on  agreeing  to  Mr. 
Moss's  substitute  postponing  all  elections,  ex- 
cept Congressional,  until  1864, 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK  moved  to  except  also  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK  said  it  seemed  to  be  very 

necessary  that  a  legislature  should  be  elected 

in  order  to  take  charge  of  the  many  interests 

|  of  the  State  that  were  suffering  for  want  of 


179 


legislation.  As  to  the  Sheriffs,  Coroners,  and 
other  county  officers,  the  only  way  to  fill  these 
offices  in  many  counties  was  by  appointment 
of  the  Governor.  Nobody  would  become  can 
didates,  even  if  elections  were  ordered. 

Mr.  BUSH.  Sir,  I  will  state  plainly  why,  in 
my  opinion,  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman 
from  Clay  (Mr.  Moss)  should  be  voted  down. 
Its  purpose  is  to  postpone  the  election.  Sir, 
"  I  shun  delays — they  breed  remorse."  Why 
should  we  delay  ?  The  reasons  given  by  va- 
rious members  are :  1st.  We  do  not  need  an 
election.  The  Provisional  Government  works 
admirably  well ;  the  people  are  quieting  down 
under  it.  Further,  the  people  have  confidence 
in  this  Convention,  which  has  the  wisdom  and 
the  power  to  do  all  the  legislation  that  may  be 
necessary.  2d.  The  people  are  not  quiet 
enough ;  the  condition  of  the  country  is  too 
disturbed  to  hold  an  election.  Questions  may 
be  agitated  which  will  still  more  disturb  their 
condition — in  one  word,  they  fear  trouble.  3d. 
The  election  will  be  a  farce  and  a  mockery  . 
they  want  no  election;  while  it  is  necessary,  for 
the  safety  of  the  country,  to  prescribe  test 
oaths.  In  other  words,  they  want  traitors  to 
have  a  vote,  or  no  voting  at  all. 

Before  I  shall  give  my  views  on  these  rea- 
sons, I  will  state  that,  if  it  had  been  shown  to 
my  satisfaction,  that  large  portions  of  this  State 
are  yet  occupied  by  the  enemy — by  the  armies 
of  the  so-called  Confederate  States — that  in 
many  and  populous  sections  of  this  State  no 
elections  could  be  held,  there  being  no  courts, 
nor  clerks  of  courts,  or  other  officers  charged 
with  equivalent  duties— I  would  myself,  though 
with  great  regret,  have  voted  for  postponing 
all  elections. 

But  such  fact  has  only  been  brought  before 
us  by  the  gentleman  from  Iron,  whose  views 
on  the  subject,  I  am  free  to  say,  cannot  have 
any  weight  with  me.  In  July  last  he  told  us 
that  he  considered  our  acts  unconstitutional 
and  usurpation,  [quoting  very  interesting  pas- 
sages from  Mr.  Pipkin's  speeches],  and  now  he 
had  repeated  that  these  are  still  to-day  his 
views,  yet  he  votes  and  acts  with  us;  nay,  he 
asks  us  to  prolong  this  unconstitutional  and 
usurpatory  existence.  Such  logic  I  cannot 
understand. 

But,  sir,  I  can  comprehend  the  reasons 
before  stated  against  the  holding  of  an  election, 
and  I  will  now  try  and  refute  them. 

I.  It  is  said  that  the  Provisional  Government 
which  you  have  appointed  works  well  and  gives 
full  satisfaction  to  the  people.  I  am  glad  to 


believe  this.  But  why  then  doubt  that  the 
people  will  ratify  the  same  in  an  election  ?  The 
present  incumbents  desire  nothing  better.  The 
Governor  is  incurring  a  great  sacrifice  in  hold- 
ing this  office ;  but  while  he  is  willing  to  serve* 
us  again  in  this  capacity  if  it  be  the  desire  of 
the  people,  no  consideration  whatever  could  in- 
duce him  to  continue  in  office  if  he  should  for 
a  moment  believe  that  it  were  not  the  will  of 
the  loyal  people.  Our  Lieutenant-Governor 
entertains,  no  doubt,  the  same  views ;  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  has  already  announced  himself 
as  a  candidate  for  the  August  election.  If  the 
people  are  quieting  down,  and  have  become 
satisfied  with  this  administration,  they  will 
ratify  it  by  an  election,  and  become  more  satis- 
fied. There  is  always  something  unpleasant, 
something  almost  unbearable  for  a  free  people 
to  recognize  and  to  live  under  a  government 
which  has  not  been  duly  elected  by  the  same. 

While  I  am  unwilling  to  give  my  consent  to 
continue  the  Provisional  Government  in  office 
without  a  ratification  by  the  people,  I  am  still 
more  opposed  to  continue  the  existence  of  this 
Convention.  True,  this  Convention  has  the 
power  and  the  right  to  do  all  the  necessary 
legislation  for  the  interest  and  protection  of  all 
the  institutions  of  the  people  of  this  State,  but 
it  has  either  not  the  courage  or  not  the  will  to 
do  so,  and  is  doing  what  seems  unavoidable 
and  indispensable.  This  has  been  the  estab- 
lished policy  of  the  majority,  and  it  may  have 
been  a  correct  policy ;  but  then  it  is  time,  high 
time,  that  a  fresh  and  regular  legislative  body 
be  elected  by  the  people.  I  may  state  here 
that  I  deem  it  necessary  that  this  Convention 
remain  in  existence  till  after  the  first  meeting 
of  the  Legislature,  for  exigencies  which  it  is 
impossible  to  foresee  at  this  moment.  But,  as 
we  desire  not  to  legislate  on  any  of  the  impor- 
tant matters  which  imperatively  demand  legis- 
lation, as  many  of  us  admit  not  to  be  acquaint- 
ed with  the  present  local  condition  and  require- 
ments of  their  constituents,  as  one-third  of  our 
members  are  missing,  and  thus  large  portions 
of  the  State  quite  unrepresented,  you  cannot 
justly  refuse  to  provide  for  a  Legislative  Assem- 
bly, to  be  elected  by  the  people. 

This  Convention  has  been  constantly  eulo- 
gized and  complimented  Irom  the  opening  of 
this  session  by  the  Governor's  message  up  to 
the  gentleman  who  spoke  last,  and  it  can  v-ell 
afford  to  hear  from  me  a  different  opinion.  I 
believe  this  Convention  has  outlived  itself  and 
is  losing  the  confidence  of  the  people,  or  is  at 
least  in  danger  of  losing  it  entirely,  if  it  were 


180 


to  continue  its  existence  longer  than  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary.  I,  for  one,  have  more  confi- 
dence in  the  people  than  in  this  Convention, 
and  for  our  good  name,  and  for  the  well  being 
of  the  people,  I  must  desire  an  early  election. 

II.  But  an  election  will  produce  trouble.  "  I 
tell  you  it's  best  to  look  trouble  in  the  face,  if 
you  don't  you'll  have  more  of  it."     You  have 
proved,  gentlemen,  by  your  vote  on  the  pro- 
position of  my  noble  friend  and  colleague,  Mr. 
Breckinridge,  that  you  fear  agitation — that  you 
lack  the  courage  to  meet  the  great  questions  of 
the  day — but  do  you  believe  to  avoid  thereby 
our  dangers  ?     The  storm  is  raging.     Will  it 
quiet  the  storm  when  you  stop  your  ears  1    If 
you  do  wilfully  blind  yourselves  to  "the  signs 
of  the  times,"  you  will  only  not  see  their  warn- 
ings  and   will  sink   the   ship,   "rending  and 
wrecking  "  the  very  institutions  you  wish  to 
preserve,  and  which  you  might  have  saved  by 
a   "  calm   consideration,"    wise   counsel,   and 
courageous  action.     The  question  which  you 
wish  to  avoid — no  doubt  from  the  best  of  mo- 
tives— will  be  agitated  all  over  the  land,  in 
every  house  and  hamlet — election  or  no  elec- 
tion.    And  the  sooner  you  prepare  to  meet  it, 
the  better  for  you,  the  people  of  Missouri,  its 
property  and  true  interest. 

III.  The  holding  of  an  election  is  further 
objected  to  on  the  ground  that  it  is  deemed  ne- 
cessary to  prescribe  an  oath  to  voters  and  to 
candidates.     Aye,   you  have  been  told,   Mr. 
President,  that  such  an  election  would  be  a 
farce  and  a  mockery.    Now,  sir,  there  have 
been  held  already  several  fair  and  quiet  elec 
tions,  with  satisfactory  results,  in  various  dis- 
tricts, with  the  restrictions  of  similar  oaths  to 
those  you  have  adopted  yesterday.     I,  sir,  had 
also  to  abjure  my  former  government;   I  had 
to  take  an  oath  "  that  I  will  support  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  and  will  bear 
true  allegiance  to  this  Government,"  before  I 
was  allowed  to  vote,  and  millions  of  our  voters 
the   same  way.     Still  did  never  any  one  of 
them  call  the  exercise  of  this  high  privilege  "a 
farce  and  a  mockery." 

Sir,  the  restrictions  contained  in  the  ordi- 
nance adopted  by  this  body  are  just,  are  mild, 
are  necessary  ;  under  them  we  can  have  a  fair, 
a  safe  and  qufet  election,  and  candidates  will 
be  spared  the  unpleasant,  the  dangerous  and 
degrading  work  of  seeking  aid1  and  support  from 
disloyal  voters. 

But  one  more  remark,  Mr.  President,  and  I 
am  done.  I  want  you  to-  remember  that  the 
"do  nothing"  policy  lias  always  been  the 


characteristic  policy  of  the  gentlemen  (Messrs, 
Moss  and  Howell)  who  offer  this  amendment. 
On  the  24th  of  July  the  gentleman  from  Clay 
offered  the  following  resolution:  "Resolved, 
That  no  action  of  action  of  this  Convention  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  a  State  Government 
can  give  peace  to  Missouri ; "  and  the  gentle- 
man from  Monroe  said,  on  the  30th  of  July  r 
"  I  believe,  sir,  the  true  position  for  Missouri 
is  to  maintain  a  position  of  '  masterly  inacti- 
vity.' To  act  now  would  create  a  civil  war  in 
our  midst,  and  array  county  against  county, 
township  against  township,  neighborhood 
against  neighborhood,  and  family  against 
family."  And  further :  "  The  people  would 
much  prefer  that  the  State  should  be  held  as  a 
province  than  that  a  government  should  be 
foisted  upon  them  apparently  by  their  consent, 
when  it  really  is  not.  And  now  they  propose 
to  continue  this  same  Government  foisted  upon 
them,  and  again  to  do  nothing,  to  wait,  and? 
to  delay. 

But  does  this  amendment  really  propose  to 
hold  no  election  at  all  1  Can  it  honestly  do  so? 
No  !  The  gentleman  from  Clay  is  well  aware 
that  even  if  we  were  to  continue  the  Provi- 
sional Government  and  this  Convention  ;  even 
if  the  Governor  were  to  appoint  Judges,  Sher- 
iffs, County  Court  Justices,  and  Coroners,  all 
of  whom  should  be  elected  by  the  people — we 
must  still  have  an  election  within  six  months- 
for  Representatives  in  Congress  in  all  the  nine 
districts.  Now  why,  in  the  name  of  common 
sense,  not  have  a  full  and  regular  election  ? 
"  Be  wise  to-day — :tis  madnesa  to  defer." 

Mr.  MARMADUKE.  I  would  like  to  give  the 
reasons  that  will  govern  me  in  the  vote  I  shall 
cast,  not  only  in  reference  to  the  amendment 
to  the  substitute,  but  the  substitute  itself;  and 
I  think,  Mr.  President,  that  the  members  of 
the  Convention  will  bear  witness  that  no  mem- 
ber on  this  floor  has  occupied  less  of  their  time 
than  I  have.  Being  one  of  the  youngest  mem- 
bers on  this  floor,  I  have  felt  reluctant  in  press- 
ing my  views  on  this  body.  I  have  deferred 
to  the  views  of  older,  wiser,  and,  perchance, 
better  men  than  myself;  but  there  are  times, 
Mr.  President,  when  duty — public  duty — rises 
high  above  either  personal  preferences  or  con- 
siderations of  personal  safety.  Mr.  President, 
I,  sir,  have  reached  that  point,  and  at  the  out- 
set, I  desire  to  know  whether  or  not  the  ancient 
privileges  which  have  hitherto  appertained  to 
this  hall — whether,  sir,  the  right  of  speech  is 
to  be  allowed  or  denied  me  here  ?  I  desire  to 
know  whether  or  not  that  great  right  which 


181 


underlies  the  Constitution  itself — that  great 
right  for  which  the  fathers  of  the  revolution 
contended  through  a  long  and  bloody  war — 
whether  that  right  is  to  be  allowed  or  denied 
me  here. 

Mr.  President,  it  is  a  right  which  is  guaran- 
tied to  me  by  the  Constitution  ;  it  is  a  right 
which  is  sacred  to  me;  and  I  do  riot  believe 
that  that  spirit  of  vandalism  and  terrorism 
which  has  invaded  both  public  and  private  life 
has  likewise  invaded  this  hall,  and  taken  away 
not  only  the  highest  prerogative  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  but,  likewise,  the  very  last  vestige 
of  a  republican  form  of  government.  Sir,  it 
is  a  right  guarantied  to  me  by  the  Constitution, 
and  it  is  a  right  I  sball  surrender  only  with 
life  itself.  While  I  am  aware  that  my  opin- 
ions are  different  from  the  opinions  of  a  vast 
majority  of  this  Convention,  yet,  sir,  I  shall 
express  them  as  the  views,  not  only  of  my  con- 
stituents, but  of  nine-tenths  of  the  people  of 
Missouri,  regardless  of  consequences.  Mr. 
President,  whatever  I  may  say  on  this  floor, 
and  whatever  views  may  fall  from  my  lips,  I 
want  gentlemen  to  understand  that  I  do  not  in- 
tend them  as  personal  reflections  at  all.  I  am 
one  of  those  who  is  willing,  at  all  times  and 
under  all  circumstances,  to  allow  others  that 
same  honesty  of  opinion  and  purpose  that  I 
claim  for  my  own  opinions  and  purposes;  and 
therefore,  sir,  while  I  have  differed  with  these 
.gentlemen,  politically,  at  the  same  time,  every 
.gentleman  here  will  bear  witness  to  the  fact 
that,  personally,  I  entertain  opinions  of  the 
kindest  feeling  and  highest  respect  towards 
them. 

Mr.  President,  I  had  thought  that  the  people 
who  elected  this  body  expected  that  our  work 
was  done  when  we  closed  the  first  session  at 
St.  Louis.  Our  work  was  done,  and  well  done, 
and  it  met  the  views  of  an  overwhelming  ma- 
jority of  the  people  of  this  State ;  but  in  my 
humble  judgment,  sir,  every  act  of  the  Conven- 
tion from  its  first  session  to  the  presentbas  been 
-at  war  both  with  the  opinions,  and  I  may  say,  the 
interests  of  the  people  of  Missouri.  I  am  one  of 
those  elected  on  a  Union  ticket,  and  I  was  a 
Union  man.  No  man  on  this  floor  has  a  heart 
to  love  more  than  1  do  both  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  and  this  form  of  Government, 
&nd  I  worked  with  all  zeal  in  their  behalf.  I  was 
elected  in  my  own  county,  because  I  was  a 
Union  man,  and,  with  my  colleagues,  I  was 
•elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the 
people.  But,  Mr.  President,  we  were  not  elect- 
ed as  unconditional  Union  men.  We  took  a 


position  before  the  people, — a  position  that  was 
carried  out  in  the  first  meeting  of  the  Conven- 
tion,— that  we  believed  there  was  a  hope  of 
settling  amicably  the  great  questions  before 
the  people  ;  and  we  took  another  position,  and 
that  was  against  coercion.  And  upon  every 
stump  we  talked — at  least  I  can  bear  witness 
to  one  of  my  colleagues — we  took  the  position 
that  in  the  event  of  a  war  between  the  North 
and  South,  and  an  attempt  at  coercion,  we 
would  be  found  not  only  in  sympathy,  but 
against  any  attempt  to  coerce  the  Southern 
people.  And,  sir,  did  not  this  Convention  pass 
resolutions  unequivocally  on  that  point?  Did 
not  this  Convention,  with  most  singular  unan- 
imity, while  at  St.  Louis,  pass  a  resolution 
against  any  attempt  to  coerce  the  Southern 
States,  aod  yet,  what  has  -been  the  course  of 
this  Convention  since  ?  No  sooner  did  the  war 
commence,  no  sooner  was  the  red  flag  of  revo- 
lution raised,  than  this  Convention  backed 
down  from  the  will  of  the  people,  and  their 
own  resolution,  and  arrayed  themselves  against 
the  people  of  the  State.  Mr.  President,  I  do 
not  say  the  Convention  did  not  do  right.  They 
may  have  done  right .;  but  I  do  say  th<ey  did  not 
represent  the  people  of  Missouri  in  backing 
down. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  I  call  the  gentleman  to 
order.  I  believe  the  amendment  before  the 
house  refers  to  postponing  the  elections. 

Mr.  MARMADUKEI.  I  have  no  doubt  many 
of  my  remarks  are  unpalatable  to  that  gentle- 
man, as  well  as  to  others,  but  the  latitude 
which  this  debate  has  taken  has  been  so  great 
that  I  claim  for  myself  the  same  rights  that 
have  been  extended  to  other  gentlemen.  What- 
ever I  say  here,  I  take  the  responsibility  of  it 
upon  my  own  shoulders,  and  I  hope  I  may  be 
allowed  to  proceed.  Still,  sir,  if  the  Conven- 
tion are  unwilling  to  hear  my  views  on  this 
subject  I  will  bow  to  their  decision. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS.  I  hope  the  gentleman  will 
have  ample  opportunity  to  ventilate  himself. 

Mr.  MARMADUKE.  Mr.  President,  I  am 
not  very  much  in  the  habit  bf  public  speaking, 
and  have  not  been  since  the  close  of  my  col- 
lege days,  and  I  regret  very  much  that  the  gen- 
tleman should  have  broken  in  on  my  remarks 
at  the  time  he  did.  Still,  I  will  endeavor  to 
continue.  Mr.  President,  I  believe  I  was  on 
the  subject  of  the  action  of  this  Convention,  at 
its  first  session,  with  reference  to  coercion.  I 
desire  to  say,  Mr.  President, — and  the  fact  is 
well  known  to  you  and  the  members  of  this 
body — that  there  was  a  resolution  passed  by 


182 


this  Convention,  at  its  first  session,  and  in  ac- 
cordance, as  I  bt-lieve,  with  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple of  this  State,  opposed  to  coercion  ;  but  since 
the  expiration  of  the  first  session,  the  whole 
course  and  action  of  this  Convention  has  been 
in  direct  contravention  of  that  resolution.. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  ask  the  gentleman  to 
point  out  the  resolution  passed  at  the  first  ses- 
sion of  this  Convention,  which  is  opposed  to 
coercion  in  the  sense  he  has  stated. 

Mr.  MARMADUKE,  I  have  not  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Convention  before  me,  but  I  will 
take  occasion  to  furnish  the  gentleman  with 
the  resolution  wh'ch  I  have  referred  to.  There 
was  such  a  resolution,  Mr.  President,  if  not 
directly,  indirectly  against  coercion,  and  which 
the  people  of  Missouri  regarded  as  expressing 
their  will.  I  do  not  believe  the  gentleman 
from  St.  Louis  voted  for  it;  I  believe  he  did 
not,  but  I  know  an  overwhelming  majority  of 
the  Convention  did  vote  for  it,  and  I  know 
their  opinions  and  feelings  were  opposed  to 
anything  like  coercion.  And  it  is  but  natural 
they  should  be  so.  How  could  it  be  other- 
wise than  that  when  a  contest  came  up  be- 
tween the  North  and  the  South,  our  whole  feel- 
ing, passion  and  prejudice  should  array  them- 
selves on  the  side  of  the  South?  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, it  is  but  natural ;  and  whatever  may  be 
the  action  of  this  Convention7  and  whatever 
may  have  been  its  action,  the  people  of  Mis- 
souri have  been,  opposed  to  the  attempt  to  co- 
erce the  Southern-  States,  and  I  ara  one  of  those 
who  most  cordially  sympathize  with  that 
feeling  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  Missouri ; 
not  that  I  was  opposed  to  the  Constitution,  for 
I  never  have  been,  but  there  is  one  thing  I  have 
been  opposed  to.  While  I  am  an  admirer  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  Sta*  ,  and 
while  I  admire  our  system  of  government  in 
all  its  parts,  I  do  protest  against  the  effort  to 
substitute  the  Chicago  platform  for  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States.  I  cannot  be 
loyal  to  that  platform,  nor  can  I  be  loyal  to 
any  party  or  administration  that  plants  itself 
on  that  platform. 

Mr.  President,  is  the  course  pursued  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  in  reference 
to  Missouri  calculated  to  conduce  to  the  loyal- 
ty of  her  people?  Has  any  gentleman  the 
right,  when  he  surveys  the  field  and  contem- 
plates the  facts,  has  he  the  right  to  doubt,  for 
one  moment,  the  position  of  the  people  of  Mis- 
souri ?  What  has  been  the  course  of  the  Gov- 
ernment towards  Missouri  ?  Has  it  been  one 
of  kindness — one  calculated  to  win  them  back 


to  loyalty?  On  the  contrary,  from  the  incip- 
iency  of  this  war  up  to  the  present  time  there 
has  been  every  effort  made — T  do  not  say  pur- 
posely, but  it  has  been  made. — I  say,  every  ac- 
tion of  the  Government  has  been  calculated  to 
increase  disloyalty  rather  than  loyalty.  The 
very  first  act  of  the  Government  in  this  State 
was  to  inaugurate  a  system  of  Home  Guards — 
the  most  obnoxious  military  system  that  was 
ever  known  to  any  people — and  without  any 
semblance  of  law.  They  were  armed  and 
banded  together,  and  they  were  the  most 
heinous  body  of  men  that  ever  did  band  togeth- 
er. I  know  it  is  a  fact  that  in  my  entire  sec- 
tion of  country  these  organizations,  under  the 
fostering  care  of  the  Government,  did  more  to 
increase  and  bring  about  disloyalty  then  every 
other  consideration  put  together.  Ever  since 
the  Camp  Jackson  affair,  disloyalty  has  con- 
tinued to  increase  in  consequence  of  the  acts 
of  these  Home  Guards. 

Mr.  President,  when  we  met  here  last  year 
and  went  into  the  election  of  a  Governor,  and 
deposed  the  Governor  elected  by  the  people,  I 
hoped  that  the  pledges  the  Governor  elected  by 
us  made  to  this  Convention,  on  this  floor, 
would  be  carried  out  in  good  faith.  I  regret 
they  have  not  been  carried  out.  I  remember 
well  he  told  us  from  that  stand  that  he  would 
do  all  in  his  power  to  stop  the  arrest  of  private 
citizens  simply  for  entertaining  an  opinion. 
Has  that  been  done?  No,  sir,  it  has  not.  In 
my  own  county,  three  hundred  men  have  been 
arrested  for  expressing  their  opinions,  and  the 
people  are  absolutely  afraid  to  express  their 
opinions,  because  they  fear  they  will  be  sus- 
pected of  entertaining  sympathy  with  the  South. 
Is  that  course  calculated  to  conduce  to  the  loy- 
alty of  our  citizens? 

Look  at  the  outrages  committed  by  our  ar- 
mies on  the  western  frontier  of  this  State.  I 
will  point  to  the  outrages  committed  by  that 
bold  brigand  and  outlaw,  Jennison,  in  the 
counties  on  the  Kansas  border.  His  army  has 
been  followed  by  the  smoking  ruins  of  farm 
houses,  and  all  this  has  been  done  under  the 
immediate  eye,  and  I  believe,  has  met  with 
the  unqualified  endorsement  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Why  have  not  I  aright  to  believe  so  ? 
Has  the  Government  ever  done  anything  to 
make  me  believe,  or  you  believe,  that  it  did 
not  endorse  this  course  of  Jennison's.  Sir,  he 
was  allowed,  as  long  as  he  staid  in  Missouri,  to 
commit  his  desperate  outrages  on  our  citizens, 
and  there  are  hundreds  and  thousands  in  those 
counties  who  are  left  houseless  and  homeless, 


183 


to  bo  thrown  upon  the  cold  charities  of  the 
world,  by  reason  of  the  acts  of  this  man  Jenni- 
son.  It  is  true  he  may  have  been  arrested,  but 
it  was  not  upon  Missouri  soil,  nor  do  we  know 
it  was  for  any  of  these  outrages.  But  what  was 
done  with  him  ?  He  no  sooner  reached  St.  Louis 
than  he  met  with  a  perfect  ovation.  He  is 
toasted  and  feasted — not  by  all  parties,  I  am 
glad  to  say,  Mr.  President.  There  was  one 
party  there  that  did  not  feast  him.  But  what 
did  this  ovation  mean  ?  It  meant  that  his 
course  was  endorsed,  and  that  they  were  ready 
to  treat  him  him  with  all  the  pomp  and  cir- 
cumstance of  a  famous  chieftain.  Following 
him  to  Washington,  what  do  we  find  ?  Has 
the  President  done  with  him  as  he  would,  or 
should,  have  done  with  any  other  robber  ?  Sir, 
we  find,  when  he  reached  Washington  City, 
he  met  with  the  same  ovation,  and  with  out- 
stretched hands,  perhaps,  from  the  President. 

But,  Mr.  President,  what  he  has  done  on  a 
large  scale  has  been  done  by  smaller  lights, 
all  through  my  section  of  the  country.  There 
have  been  honorable  exceptions,  I  am  glad  to 
bear  witness  ;  but  wherever  the  army  has  gone 
and  citizens  have  been  suspected  of  sympa- 
thizing with  the  South,  its  course  has  b^en 
marked  with  desolation  and  outrage.  Mr. 
President,  I  say  such  a  course  is  not  conducive 
to  loyalty,  and  I  regret  to  see  an  indication,  on 
the  part  of  this  Convention  that  they  are  go- 
ing to  pursue  almost  the  same  course  towards 
the  people.  In  reference  to  the  elective  fran- 
chise, what  do  we  find  ?  We  know  we  are  a 
subjugated  people  in  Missouri.  I  acknowledge 
we  are  subjugated,  and  the  Federal  arms  have 
taken  possession  of  the  State.  The  question, 
then,  is,  what  course  of  policy  is  to  be  pursued 
towards  the  people  of  Missouri,  so  as  to  bring 
them  back  to  their  original  allegiance  ?  Is  it 
to  be  the  course  indicated  by  this  Convention, 
and  will  that  conduce  to  their  loyalty,  and 
tend  to  bring  them  back  ? 

But,  Mr.  President,  coming  immediately  to 
the  question  under  consideration.  There  yet 
remains  to  the  Convention  an  opportunity  to 
relieve  the  Convention  and  the  State,  and  that 
is  the  adoption  of  the  amendment  of  the  gen 
tleman  from  Clay.  I  am  one  of  those  who 
have  voted  persistently  and  consistently  to  ad- 
journ this  Convention.  I  am  one  of  those  who 
believe  no  good  can  come  from  it.  I  believed 
from  the  first  that  our  legislation  would  not  be 
conducive  to  the  good  of  the  State.  I  protest 
against  the  assertions  of  gentlemen  who  claim 
that  our  action  has  brought  about  the  compar 


itive  peace  that  we  now  enjoy.     Not  a  single 
ict  of  this  Convention  has  done  anything  to 
give  peace  and  quiet  to  this  State.     It  is  arro- 
gating that  to  the  Convention  which  its  action 
n  no  way,  shape,  manner,  or  form,  has  been 
n  the  slightest  degree  conducive.     Gentlemen 
on  this  floor  know  that  our  action  has  been 
ondemned  by  a  majority  of  the  people.     The 
leace  we  have  is  the  result  of  the  course  pur- 
sued by  Gen.  Halleck ;  it  is  the  result  of  one 
of  the  armies  being  driven  from  the  State;  it 
s  the  result  of  the  Federal  army  driving  the 
opposing  army  from  the  State.     It  is  that  that 
las  given  apparent  peace  to  the  State,  and  it  is 
not  the  action  of  this  Convention.     I  say  I  op- 
posed this  action  because  I  believed  it  would 
lot  be  conducive  to  the  peace  of  the  State,  and 
every  day's  experience  satisfies  me  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  my  belief.     I  believe  every  act  of 
this  Convention,  instead  of  giving  peace  and 
quiet  to  the  State,  has  had  an  influence  direct- 
y  contrary,  and  I  fear  that  the  action  hereaf- 
ter, will  be  part  and  parcel  of  what  it  has  been 
heretofore.     It  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Con- 
vention to  give  peace  and  quiet  to   the  State, 
and  yet,  I  fear,  their  action  will  be  exactly  the 
ontrary.     I  fear  the  policy  laid  down,  and  in- 
tended to  be  carried  out,  will  make  it  neces- 
sary to  bring  in  a  stronger  army  than  ever  be- 
fore ;  and  hence,  I  conjure  members  to  be  care- 
ful of  their  legislation.     I  am  one  of  those  who 
desire  the  peace  of  the  State.     I  do  not  desire 
to  see  another  opposing  army  on  our  soil.     We 
have  now  the  means,  by  judicial  and  proper 
legislation,  to  maintain  the  peace.     If,  by  our 
legislation  we  carry  out  the  honest  instincts  of 
justice,  it  will  not  be  necessary  for  another 
army  to  come  here ;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  by 
thi.  .  bnoxious  system  of  restriction,  and  every 
other  insult  and  outrage  that  cr.n  arouse  the 
people,  who  will  dare  foretell  the  end  of  it; 
and  hence,  although  I  have  voted  to  adjourn 
the  Convention  from  the  first ;  although  I  be- 
lieve its  action  has  been  an  outrage  upon  the 
people,  yet,  from  present  circumstances,  I  be- 
lieve the  best  thing  we  can  do,  considering  the 
obnoxious  and  odious  restrictions  that  surround 
the  elective  franchise — best  for  the  people  of 
Missouri,  and  best  for  the  perpetuity  of  their 
peace, — is  to  vote  to  have  no  election. 

Mr.  President,  I  am  sorry  I  have  so  long 
wearied,  as  I  have  no  doubt  I  have,  the  feel- 
ings of  this  Convention.  I  have  no  doubt  I 
have  said  many  things  obnoxious,  but  they  are 
my  honest  sentiments. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.     I  desire  to  withdraw  my 


184 


amendment,  and  reserve  the  right  to  offer  it  at 
some  future  time. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  The  Convention  has  just 
listened  to  the  respectable  and  populous  county 
of  Saline  ;  and  it  is  fitting  and  proper  that  the 
equally  respectable  and  more  populous  county 
of  Cooper  should  also  be  heard  upon  this  ques- 
tion. Considering  that  the  question  now  pend- 
ing before  this  Convention  is  one  of  the  most 
important  which  has  yet  been  presented  for  its 
consideration,  I  should  be  wanting  in  the  duty 
which  I  owe  to  the  generous  constituency  who 
sent  me  here,  in  part,  to  represent  them  on  this 
floor,  if  I  did  not  attempt  to  speak  their  senti- 
ments, and  my  own,  upon  this  question. 

Great  latitude  of  discussion  has  been  indulged 
in,  and  the  relations  between  the  General  Gov- 
ernment and  the  State  have  been  referred  to, 
and  many  irrelevant  and  collateral  issues  have 
been  made  before  us ;  yet,  sir,  I  understand 
the  simple  question  now  for  our  decision  is  as 
to  the  propriety  of  adopting  the  amendment 
proposed  by  the  gentleman  from  Clay.  What 
is  that  ?  It  is  a  proposition  to  postpone  and  de- 
fer, perhaps  indefinitely,  or  at  least  until  1864, 
the  elections  in  this  State ;  and  as  this  latitude 
of  discussion  has  been  indulged  in,  and  as 
other  gentlemen  have  been  permitted  to  go 
outside  the  record,  I  trust  equal  indulgence 
will  be  extended  to  me.  I  shall  trespass  but 
briefly  upon  the  indulgence  of  the  Convention. 
Sir,  the  discussion  upon  this  amendment  has 
developed  one  peculiar  and  remarkable  feature. 
Not  many  moons  had  waxed  and  waned  since 
the  gentleman  contending  for  a  postponement 
of  all  the  elections,  contended  with  equal  per- 
tinacity, and  with  more  vehement  eloquence, 
for  a  speedy  election  for  the  people.  What  has 
wrought  this  wonderful  change  in  the  minds  of 
those  gentlemen  ?  What  political  sorcerer  has 
produced  this  wonderful  change  in  their  views 
and  opinions  ?  Why,  sir,  it  struck  me  with  re- 
markable and  peculiar  force  when  these  gen- 
tlemen were  addressing  the  Convention,  that 
the  speeches  to  which  we  listened  here  to-day 
and  yesterday  were  not  made  to  influence  the 
action  of  this  Convention.  I  trust  I  shall  in- 
dulge in  no  personal  reflections  upon  the  mo- 
tives of  members — I  know  I  will  not  intention- 
ally— but  it  struck  me,  sir,  that  those  speeches 
were  made  for  home  consumption.  Why,  this 
Convention,  which,  a  short  time  ago,  was  odi- 
ous and  revolutionary,  raising  up  its  usurping 
hands  to  tear  down  the  Government  of  the 
people,  has  suddenly  become  one  of  marvel- 
lous propriety,  and  should  be  continued  for  all 


time.  Why  is  it  ?  Why,  sir,  there  is  an  old 
proverb  which  I  will  venture  to  translate  into 
English,  "  We  suspect  the  Greeks  when  they 
bring  their  gifts."  There  seems  to  be  some 
design  not  fully  apparent  in  this  wonderful 
change.  We  are  told  that  when  Saul  journeyed 
from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus,  breathing  fire 
and  slaughter  against  the  devoted  band  of  the 
followers  of  Christ,  the  scales  suddenly  fell 
from  his  eyes,  and  he  was  overcome  with  pen- 
itence and  sorrow  for  his  previous  acts.  Sir, 
there  has  been  but  one  parallel  case  from  that 
day  to  this,  and  it  is  found  in  the  wonderful 
and  remarkable  conversion  of  gentlemen  who 
are  now  contending  for  the  postponement  of 
these  elections.  But  this  conversion  was  not 
brought  about  by  the  same  Almighty  power 
that  wrought  the  conversion  of  Saul.  I  am 
forced  to  believe  this  conversion  proceeds  from 
another  and  an  opposite  direction.  [Laughter.] 
We  were  told  by  the  gentleman  that  addressed 
us  yesterday,  that  this  is  a  revolutionary  body. 
Sir,  I  deny  it.  It  is  not  a  revolutionary  body, 
and  it  was  not  organized  for  revolutionary  pur- 
poses. It  was  brought  into  being,  or  at  least 
the  people  sent  us  here  for  a  sovereign  pur- 
pose. True,  sir,  a  traitorous  Legislature,  by 
whose  act  we  were  called  into  existence,  in- 
tended that  we  should  be  guilty  of  the  enor- 
mous crime  of  severing  the  relations  that  bind 
us  to  the  Government  of  our  fathers.  But  the 
people  in  their  sovereign  and  potential  voice 
rebuked  the  treason  that  was  hatched  in  this 
capital. 

I  shall  not  follow  gentlemen  in  their  tortu- 
ous course  pursued  in  this  discussion,  but  I 
may,  with  propriety,  refer  to  some  of  the  re- 
marks of  the  gentleman  from  Saline,  (Mr. 
MarmadukeJ  Why,  sir,  what  bas  there  been 
in  the  action  of  this  Convention  to  warrant  the 
declaration  which  proceeded  from  him  ?  Has 
there  been  any'hing  in  our  action  tending  to 
put  the  gag  in  his  mouth,  or  in  the  mouth  of 
any  other  gentleman  ?  Have  not  the  members 
on  this  floor  had  the  largest  liberty  of  discus- 
sion ?  And  yet,  the  gentleman  got  up  here, 
and,  with  pathetic  and  mournful  intonation  of 
voice,  talked  about  the  right  to  speak  with 
freedom  his  sentiments,  and  did  speak  them ; 
and  although  he  was  not  pertinent  to  the  ques- 
tion now  pending,  yet  we  listened  to  him  with 
the  most  patient  indulgence  and  attention. 
Why,  sir,  he  said  that  the  Union  members  of 
this  Convention  were  committed  against  coer- 
cion, and  referred  us  to  the  resolution  adopted 
at  the  first  March  session  of  this  body  to  show 


185 


that  we  had  resolved  to  throw  our  bodies  as  a 
bulwark  against  coercion. 

Mr.  MAKMADUKE.  The  gentleman  is  mista- 
ken if  he  understood  me  to  say  that  the  Con- 
vention resolved  that.  I  said,  sir,  that  gentle- 
men who  are  now  members  of  this  Conven- 
tion—some of  them  at  least— when  they  were 
candidates,  took  the  position  before  the  people 
that  in  the  event  of  an  attempt  at  coercion,  on 
the  part  of  the  Government,  of  the  seceded 
States,  they  would,  if  necessary,  oppose  it  with 
their  bodies.  I  did  not  say,  and  I  am  sorry  if 
the  gentleman  understood  me  to  say,  that  the 
Convention  made  such  a  resolution. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  I  will  not  intentionally  mis- 
represent the  gentleman,  nor  any  other  gentle- 
man on  this  floor.  I  understood  the  gentleman 
to  refer  to  the  resolution  adopted  by  ibis  Con- 
vention at  its  March  session,  and  he  certainly 
did  so  refer  to  it.  Now,  to  correct  the  misap- 
prehension under  which  he  seems  to  be  labor- 
ing, and,  perhaps,  under  which  other  gentle- 
men may  also  be  laboring,  I  will  read  the  reso- 
lution then  adopted.  It  is  the  fifth  resolution 
reported  by  the  Committee  on  Federal  Rela- 
tions : 

"  litsolced,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Con- 
vention, the  employment  of  military  force,  by 
the  Federal  Government  to  coerce  the  submis- 
sion of  the  seceding  States,  or  the  employment 
of  military  force  by  the  seceding  States  to  as- 
sail the  Government  of  the  United  States,  will 
inevitably  plunge  this  country  in  civil  war,  and 
thereby  entirely  extinguish  all  hope  of  an  am- 
icable settlement  of  the  fearful  issues  now 
pending  before  the  country ;  we,  therefore, 
earnestly  entreat  as  well  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment as  .the  seceded  States  to  withhold  and 
stay  the  arm  of  military  power,  and  on  nopre 
tence  whatever  bring  upon  the  nation  the  hor- 
rors of  civil  war." 

Did  that  resolution  declare  that  we  would  re- 
sist the  power  of  the  Federal  Government  if  it 
attempted  to  coerce  the  seceded  States  into 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  country  ?  By  no 
means.  We  simply  declared  in  that  resolution 
that  a  resort  to  arms  would  inevitably  plunge 
the  country  into  civil  war,  and  extinguish  all 
hope  of  an  amicable  settlement.  This  is  what 
we  resolved.  Will  the  gentleman  deny  it — 
that  "  a  rosort  to  arms  would  prevent  all  hope 
of  an  amicable  settlement?"  And  yet,  now, 
because  these  States  in  rebellion  against  the 
Government  of  our  fathers  have  raised  up  the 
red  hand  of  rebellion,  and  attempted  to  seize 
the  very  pillars  of  our  temple  of  liberty  and 


tear  it  into  ruins  ;  because  the  power  arid  might 
of  the  National  Government  has  been  invoked 
to  suppress  this  rebellion,  therefore,  sir,  we  are 
to  have  that  resolution  thrown  into  our  faces, 
and  a  declaration  from  the  gentleman  that  he 
could  not  stand  on  the  Chicago  platform,  and 
that  he  was  not  going  to  stand  on  the  Chicago 
platform.  I  trust  no  person  ever  thought  of 
charging  the  distinguished  gentleman,  I  sup- 
pose I  should  call  him,  with  attempting  to  get 
upon  that  platform.  The  gentleman,  in  the  ex- 
uberance of  his  imagination,  has  conjured  up 
"gorgons,  hydras,  and  chimeras  dire,"  with 
which  to  frighten  us  from  our  propriety.  He 
has  set  up  a  man  of  straw  that  he  might  show 
his  skill  in  demolishing  it.  Very  entertaining, 
no  doubt,  to  himself  and  the  audience,  but  to 
me  it  seems  exceedingly  mal  appropos  to  the 
question. 

I  proceed  now,  Mr.  President,  to  the  subject 
matter  under  consideration.  This  Convention 
has  already  adopted  an  ordinance  looking  di- 
rectly to  the  elections  that  are  to  come  off  in 
this  State.  Now,  sir,  for  what  purpose  was 
this  ordinance  defining  the  qualifications  of 
voters  adopted  ?  If  these  elections  are  to  be 
postponed  indefinitely,  why  the  necessity  of 
placing  these  safeguards  around  the  elective 
franchise?  Why,  sir,  it  would  have  been  a 
useless  work  of  supererogation  to  have  at- 
tempted to  hedge  around  the  elective  franchise 
with  these  prudent  safeguards  unless  we  intend 
to  hold  this  election.  I  hold,  sir,  that  the  prin- 
ciple on  which  that  ordinance  is  founded  is 
correct.  I  hold  that  men  whose  garments  are 
stained  and  tarnished  with  the  blood  of  treason, 
and  who  have  endeavored  and  laboriously  strug- 
gled to  tear  down  this  Government,  have  no 
right  in  principle  to  participate  in  its  manage- 
ment. The  principle,  then,  is  fundamentally 
correct.  Why  else,  sir,  is  it  that  only,  citizens 
of  this  country  are  allowed  to  exercise  the 
elective  franchise  ?  Why  is  it  that  men  com- 
ing to  this  country  from  foreign  nations  are 
first  required  to  become  naturalized  before  they 
are  allowed  to  vote  ?  It  is  because  they  must 
show  by  their  own  conduct  that  they  are 
attached  to  the  institutions  of  the  country. 
That  is  the  principle  on  which  men  are  allowed 
to  vote.  Now,  these  men  who  have  risen  in 
arms  against  the  country  have  shown  they  are 
not  attached  to  it,  and  therefore  we  apply  the 
same  rule  to  them  that  is  applied  in  the  Con- 
stitution to  citizens  of  a  foreign  country,  and 
they  are  not  allowed  to  vote.  They  have 
shown  they  are  not  attached  to  our  institutions, 


186 


and  therefore  the  same  rule  that  excludes  men 
from  another  country,  should  exclude  these 
men  who  are  native-born,  but  who  have  risen 
in  rebellion.  And,  sir,  it  may  be  asked  why 
we  adopted  the  17th  of  December  as  limitation  ? 
Sir,  there  was  a  manifest  propriety  in  it.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  action  of  this 
Convention,  at  its  October  session,  was  ex- 
tended to  these  erring  and  rebellious  people  to 
come  forward  and  lay  down  their  arms,  and 
return  to  their  allegiance.  Many  of  them  have 
returned.  Some,  I  know  of  my  own  personal 
knowledge,  have,  with  sorrowing  hearts  and 
penitential  minds,  returned  to  the  allegiance 
they  attempted  to  cast  off.  I  say  the  good  faith 
of  this  Convention  required  that  they  should  be 
restored  and  reinstated  to  their  former  privi- 
leges. The  invitation  was  extended  to  them 
to  return  to  the  house  of  their  fathers,  and  they, 
in  accepting  the  invitation,  expected  they  would 
be  treated  on  returning  as  one  of  the  old  family 
household.  I  say,  our  own  good  faith  required 
that  we  should  reinstate  and  reinvest  them  in 
the  privileges  which  they  enjoyed  prior  to  that 
time.  That  was  the  reason  why  I  voted  for 
fixing  the  limitation  on  the  17th  of  December. 
Now,  sir,  as  to  the  question  of  postponing 
this  election.  Some  gentlemen  say  that  the 
people  if  in  a  condition  to  be  trusted  with  a 
portion  of  the  elections,  should  also  be  trusted 
with  all  of  them.  I  think,  sir,  the  declaration 
is  correct  in  principle,  and  I  have  no  contro- 
versy to  make  with  it;  but  with  regard  to  the 
election  of  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  and 
Secretary  of  State,  there  is  at  least  an  apparent 
propriety  in  postponing  that  election  which 
does  not  apply  to  members  of  the  Legislature. 
Why,  sir,  the  rule  which  we  seem  to  have 
adopted  in  this  Convention  was  to  fill  all  offices 
made  vacant  by  our  action  for  the  residue  of 
the  term^.  Hence,  the  office  of  Attorney  Gen- 
eral, which  is  filled  with  such  distinguished 
ability  by  the  presiding  officer  of  this  Conven- 
tion, is  filled  for  the  residue  of  the  term.  So, 
also,  with  the  office  of  Register  of  Lands,  which 
is  filled  with  honor  and  distinguished  ability 
by  the  gentleman  from  Greene.  Why  should 
not  the  same  rule  be  applied  to  the  offices  of 
Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Secretary 
of  State  ?  Hence,  I  say  we  can  postpone  the 
election  of  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor, 
and  Secretary  of  State,  until  the  next  regular 
election  for  those  offices,  without  any  incon- 
sistency. But  how  is  it  with  the  Legislature  ? 
I  am  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  present  State 
Administration,  and  I  believe  the  people  are 


satisfied  with  it.  But,  Mr.  President,  there  is 
an  absolute  and  overpowering  necessity  for  an 
election  of  a  Legislature.  A  great  many  sub- 
iects  of  legislation  have  already  been  brought 
before  this  body ;  but,  Mr.  President,  we  were 
not  elected  for  any  such  purpose.  True,  Mr. 
President,  I  do  not  doubt  the  power  of  this 
Convention  to  legislate  on  any'  of  these  sub- 
jects, but  yet  I  do  doubt  the  expediency  of 
doing  so.  It  is  violating  all  legislative  theory 
for  these  subjects  of  ordinary  legislation  to  be 
disposed  of  by  one  single  body.  The  theory  of 
American  legislation  requires  that  there  should 
be  two  co-ordinate  bodies — a  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives.  This  system  has  worked 
well  in  American  legislative  experience,  and  it 
should  not  be  departed  from  for  any  consider- 
able length  of  time.  Again,  sir,  if  any  mem- 
ber of  this  Convention,  if  any  citizen  of  this 
State,  will  glance  for  a  moment  at  the  deplora- 
ble condition  of  the  finances  of  this  State/  the 
necessity  of  a  Legislature  will  be  forced  upon 
his  mind  with  irresistible  conviction.  Why, 
sir,  from  the  report  of  the  Auditor,  laid  on  our 
table  a  few  days  ago,  it  appears  that  the  reve- 
nue of  the  State  now  is  only  about  $300,000, 
and  the  ordinary  expenditures  of  the  State 
reach,  perhaps,  the  same  amount.  Indeed,  I 
was  informed  by  the  Auditor  that  the  ordinary 
expenses  of  the  State  Government  would 
reach,  perhaps,  $400,000.  Here  we  have  only 
a  revenue  of  $300,000 ;  how,  then,  are  we 
going  to  provide  for  the  ordinary  expenses  of 
the  State  Government?  Is  this  Convention  to 
do  it  ?  Are  we  going  into  ordinary  legislation 
in  order  to  provide  material  for  carrying  on 
the  ordinary  machinery  of  the  Government? 
I  trust  not,  sir.  In  addition  to  this,  w^have  a 
public  debt  of  some  $27,000,000  or  $30,000.000, 
and  the  annual  interest  on  that  is  between 
$1,000  000  and  $2,000,000.  Where  is  the  fund 
to  meet  this  liability  and  preserve  the  integrity 
of  the  State  in  meeting  the  interest  upon  her 
indebtedness?  Sir,  in  addition  to  this,  we 
have  also  an  impending  tax  to  sustain  the 
National  Government;  and  it  is  perfectly  appa- 
rent that  we  must  have  a  Legislature  in  order 
to  provide  the  ways  and  means  to  carry  on  the 
Government  and  meet  its  liabilities.  Why, 
sir,  unless  something  of  that  kind  be  done — 
unless  some  means  be  provided  to  meet  the 
interest  upon  our  State  debt,  the  ghastly  and 
hideous  spectre  of  repudiation  will  have  to  be 
met.  Sir,  is  there  a  man  in  this  Convention, 
or  a  citizen  in  this  great  and  powerful  State, 
who  wants  to  degrade  and  sully  its  honor  by 


187 


plunging  us  into  the  deep  and  unfathomable 
abyss  of  repudiation  ?  I  trust  there  is  not  one. 
We  must,  then,  have  a  Legislature  ;  and  I  have 
mentioned  this  as  only  one  among  the  numer- 
ous subjects  that  will  require  the  assembling  of 
a  Legislature. 

What,  sir,  are  the  objections  to  holding 
an  election  in  August  next?  It  has  been 
tsu'nl  the  people  are  not  in  a  condition  to  elect 
a  Legislature.  Sir,  are  not  the  loyal  men 
of  this  State  in  a  condition  to  cast  their  suf- 
frages ?  Go  where  you  will  throughout  the 
limits  of  this  State,  and  you  will  find  Union 
men  ready  now,  as  at  all  times,  to  discharge 
every  duty  which  they  are  called  upon  to  dis- 
charge, whether  to  the  State  or  National  Gov- 
.ernment.  It  may  be,  sir,  that  in  some  of  the 
counties  of  this  State  where  rebellion  has  run 
riot  the  people  are  not  in  a  condition  to  exercise 
the  elective  franchise.  It  may  be  that  in  some 
counties  in  this  State  men  have  grasped  the 
arms  of  rebellion  and  have  gone  off  with  the 
rebel  armies  of  Price,  Rains,  Coffee,  and  others, 
who  have  desolated  the  Southwestern  portion 
of  the  State.  Sir,  is  that  any  reason  ?  Is  it  to 
be  told  to  this  Convention — is  it  to  be  pro- 
nounced in  the  ears  of  loyal  men  of  the  State, 
that  because  traitors  have  forsaken  their  homes, 
because  they  have  raised  their  arms  in  rebellion 
against  the  Government,  because  they  have 
joined  the  rebellious  armies,  that  the  loyal  men 
of  the  State  shall  be  deprived  of  their  ordinary 
privileges  ?  Because  these  men  have  forsaken 
their  loyalty  and  denied  their  allegiance  to  the 
Government,  are  we  to  be  told  that  therefore, 
until  it  suits  their  pleasure  to  return  to  their 
loyalty,  we  shall  not  hold  an  election  ?  Sir, 
the  argument  sounded  strangely  upon  my  ears. 
I  do  not  think  that  this  is  any  consideration  to 
induce  the  loyal  men  of  the  State  to  postpone 
their  elections.  If  these  men  have  gone  from 
their  own  counties — if  they  have  not  yet  re- 
turned to  their  allegiance  which  they  attempted 
to  throw  off,  it  is  their  own  wrong ;  and  I  need 
only  remind  legal  gentlemen  of  this  Conven- 
tion of  the  well  known  principle  of  law,  that 
"  no  man  should  be  allowed  to  take  advantage 
of  his  own  wrong."  But  it  is  said  we  must 
wait.  Wait  for  what?  The  gentlemen  who 
have  argued  the  other  side  have  not  pretended 
to  say  what  we  should  wait  for.  Sir,  the  event 
easts  its  shadow  before  it.  Why,  it  seems  to 
me  I  can  see  a  dark  portentous  cloud  rising  up 
at  the  Southwest,  ready  again  to  burst  forth 
upon  this  devoted  State.  Are  we  to  wait  until 
it  does  come — until  the  fair  and  fertile  fields  of 


Missouri  are  again  desolated  by  the  hands  of 
traitors  ?  Sir,  I  trust  these  are  not  the  argu- 
ments which  will  influence  the  Union  men  of 
this  Convention  in  postponing  the  election.  It 
may  be  in  some  portions  of  the  State  no  elections 
will  be  held ;  but  is  that  any  reason,  because 
one  or  two  counties  in  the  district  so  ably  rep- 
resented by  the  distinguished  gentleman  from 
Iron  (Mr.  Pipkin)  shall  fail  to  send  representa- 
tives to  the  Legislature — is  that  any  reason 
why  the  Government  of  the  State  should  be 
stopped,  or  why  the  ordinary  legislative  busi- 
ness should  not  be  attended  to  and  disposed  of? 
I  think  not.  If  the  people  of  the  district  he  so 
ably  represents  do  not  choose  to  hold  their 
election,  it  is  their  own  fault. 

But  let  me  speak  of  that  which  I  know,  com- 
ing as  I  do  from  one  of  the  most  populous 
counties  in  the  State— the  very  heart  and  centre 
of  the  State  geographically.  Sir,  it  was  in  my 
own  county  that  this  bloody  and  diabolical 
drama  was  first  inaugurated.  There,  sir,  within 
sight  of  my  own  town,  the  first  battle  was 
fought.  We,  sir,  have  passed  through  this 
desolating  and  fiery  furnace  of  rebellion  ;  and 
the  loyal  men  of  my  county  have  come  through 
it  unscathed,  without  even  the  smell  of  smoke 
upon  their  garments.  Loyal  then,  they  are 
loyal  to-day — steadfast  and  immovable.  The 
people  of  my  own  county  raised  their  own 
patriotic  recruits  under  the  gallant  Lyon,  when 
this  rebellion  first  took  shape  in  this  State. 
Sir,  they  have  continued  in  the  service  from 
that  day  until  this  ;  and  a  small,  noble,  gallant, 
and  devoted  band  of  men  in  my  town  withstood 
the  shock  of  rebel  hordes  that  came  to  massacre 
them,  not  in  the  usual  mode  of  legitimate  war- 
fare, but  with  the  implements  and  in  the  manner 
of  savage  strife.  Loyal  then  as  the  people  of 
my  county  were,  they  are  loyal  to-day,  and, 
sir,  they  have  no  fear  of  an  election ;  and  if  this 
election  is  to  be  held,  I  undertake  to  say  here 
now,  conscious  of  the  full  import  and  meaning 
of  the  declaration,  that  the  old  and  patriotic 
county  of  Cooper  will  send  up  to  the  Legisla- 
ture two  true  and  loyal  men,  whose  patriotism 
and  integrity  may  be  relied  upon  in  every 
emergency.  So,  also,  I  know  it  is  in  many  of 
the  adjoining  counties.  I  have  no  fear,  sir,  as 
to  the  election  of  a  disloyal  Legislature.  The 
people  of  this  State,  both  loyal  and  disloyal, 
have  had  sufficient  of  the  rebellion,  and  they 
are  sick  and  tired  of  it.  They  have  seen  that 
it  carried  blood,  destruction,  and  devastation 
in  its  pathway  ;  and  now,  sir,  they  want  the 
State  to  return  to  that  happiness  and  prosperity 


188 


for  which  God  and  nature  fitted  and  designed 
it.  So  much,  sir,  in  regard  to  the  amendment 
of  the  gentleman  from  Clay. 

In  regard  to  the  other  feature  of  that  amend- 
ment proposed  by  the  gentleman  from  Shelby, 
that  the  Governor  of  the  State  shall  be  author. 
ized  to  order  an  election  whenever  he  sees 
proper,  I,  sir,  am  wholly  opposed  to  that. 
Highly  as  I  esteem  the  distinguished  and  hon- 
ored gentleman  who  now  so  worthily  fills  the 
executive  office  in  this  State,  much  as  the  peo- 
ple of  this  State  love  and  venerate  him,  confi- 
dent as  I  am  and  they  are  in  his  distinguished 
ability  and  in  his  undoubted  patriotism — yet, 
sir,  I  and  they  are  unwilling  to  place  any  such 
prerogative  in  the  hands  of  any  one  man.  It 
is  contrary  to  the  genius  and  to  the  spirit  of  our 
institutions.  I  am  willing  to  trust  the  people, 
and  I  am  unwilling  to  place  this  extraordinary 
discretion — this  kingly  prerogative — in  the 
hands  of  any  one  man,  highly  as  I  esteem, 
much  as  I  honor  him,  and  confident  as  I  am  of 
the  unsullied  purity  of  his  character  and  the 
unswerving  devotion  of  his  patriotism.  For 
these  reasons,  Mr.  President,  I  shall  vote  against 
any  postponement  of  the  elections  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  The  distinguished  gentle- 
man from  Cooper  (Mr.  Douglass)  has  arraigned 
me,  very  politely  indeed,  for  having  said  this 
was  a  revolutionary  tribunal.  I  hope  that  gen- 
tleman, nor  any  member  of  this  body,  misun- 
derstood me.  I  said  that  but  for  the  rebellion 
this  body  never  would  have  been  called  into 
existence — that  it  was  clothed  with  extraordi- 
nary power  for  extraordinary  purposes,  and 
that  it  alone  as  a  legislative  body  had  the 
power  to  combat  the  rebellion  in  this  State, 
and  that  it  was  therefore  revolutionary.  I 
hope  the  gentleman  did  not  understand  me 
that  I  considered  it  was  a  body  to  pass  the 
State  out  of  the  Union  over  to  rebellion.  I  in- 
sisted on  its  continued  existence,  because  it 
had  been  so  consistent  in  all  its  past  action. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  regret  very  much  to  see  that 
debates  cannot  be  conducted  in  this  body  by 
honorable  gentlemen  on  this  floor  without  they 
impugn  the  motives  of  their  adversaries,  and, 
sir,  I  am  willing  an  adversary  shall  use  every 
argument  that  is  legitimate  in  honorable  war- 
fare ;  but  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  rebuke  the  gen- 
tleman from  Cooper  for  the  Pharisaical  spirit 
in  which  he  has  conducted  his  argument  on 
this  occasion.  The  gentleman  would  intimate 
to  this  House  that  there  are  no  members  here, 
perhaps,  who  have  pure  motives  unless,  per- 


chance, they  should  be  those  who  are  so  for- 
tunate, as  the  gentleman  thinks  himself  to  have 
been,  as  to  have  seen  the  result  of  these  ques- 
tions at  the  start,  and  never  to  have  changed 
their  opinions  or  position,  and  never  to  have 
been  opposed  to  a  certain  policy  at  one  time, 
and  then  have  had  no  good  reasons  to  change 
that  policy. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  I  expressly  disavowed  any 
imputation  upon  the  motives  of  a  single  gen- 
tleman in  this  Convention. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  am  glad  to  hear  the  gentleman 
say  that.  But  his  language  was  unmistakable. 
He  even  went  back  to  his  classical  learning, 
and  warned  the  members  to  beware  of  the 
Greeks  when  they  bring  their  gifts.  Sir,  I 
would  tell  that  gentleman  that  a  wise  man,  a 
magnanimous  man,  and  a  patriot,  always  alters 
his  position  when  he  is  satisfied  that  truth, 
honor,  justice  and  patriotism  demand  it.  Has 
that  gentleman  never  changed  his  views'?  Why, 
sir,  I  remember  when  that  gentleman  worship- 
ped at  the  old  Whig  shrine,  when  his  banner 
was  triumphant ;  and  that  he  then  thought  the 
Democratic  party  the  embodiment  of  all  that 
was  iniquitous.  But  when  that  noble  flag  was 
trailed  in  the  dust,  when  the  forces  of  that 
party  became  weakened,  the  gentleman  sought 
refuge  elsewhere.  Then  this  political  Saul  had 
a  change  of  heart ;  a  new  light  dawned  around 
him,  and  he  humbled  himself  to  the  Democra- 
tic party.  I  wonder  how  he  would  have  felt 
when  he  knocked  for  admission  into  the  Dem- 
ocratic church,  if  some  old  patriarch  had  got 
up  and  said,  "  My  brethren,  beware  of  this 
new  convert !  beware  of  the  Greeks  bearing 
gifts  !  " 

The  light  that  shone  around  Saul  of  Tarsus 
was  a  heavenly  light;  but  what  light  shone 
around  the  gentleman  from  Cooper  when  he 
was  constrained  to  enter  the  Democratic 
church,  remains  a  secret  with  the  political 
elders  who  took  his  experience  on  that  occa- 
sion. But,  sir,  the  gentleman  has  a  record  in 
this  Convention,  and  outside  of  it.  He  voted 
for  Jackson  for  Governor,  when  he  knew  that 
he  was  a  secessionist  ten  years  ago.  He  once 
offered  a  resolution  in  this  Convention  which 
declared  that  Missouri  would  never  aid  the 
Federal  Government  in  an  attempt  to  coerce  a 
seceding  State  into  submission  by  military 
force;  but  I  presume  the  gentleman  has  dif- 
ferent views  upon  that  subject  now,  and  he  has 
very  good  reason  for  occupying  different 
grounds,  or  rather  for  advocating  a  different 
policy,  now  the  people  of  the  Southern  States 


189 


made  the  issue  of  battle  themselves  and  left 
the  Federal  Government  no  choice.  The  gen- 
tleman once  voted  to  submit  the  action  of  this 
body  to  the  people  for  ratification.  He  has 
since  voted  to  repeal  the  former  ordinance.  He 
voted  last  fall  to  postpone  the  State  elections, 
which  he  had  before  voted  to  be  held,  because, 
I  presume,  he  thought  the  country  was  not  in 
a  condition  to  hold  an  election,  and  yet,  when 
other  gentlemen  upon  this  fioor  presume  to  in- 
timate that  the  country  is  still  in  a  bad  condi- 
tion to  hold  elections,  and  suggest  the  propriety 
of  keeping  the  Provisional  Government  in  ex- 
istence until  quiet  is  restored,  they  are  met  with 
the  charge  of  having  sinister  motives.  Sir,  the 
people  are  just  beginning  to  appreciate  the 
merits  of  the  Provisional  Government — the 
great  military  issue  which  has  been  absorbing 
their  attention  for  the  last  nine  months  has 
been  virtually  settled  in  Missouri,  and  they  are 
once  more  able  to  reflect  upon  and  properly 
estimate  the  advantages  of  giving  full  support 
to  the  present  Government.  But,  just  as  this 
desirable  change  is  being  accomplished,  you 
open  up  the  old  prejudices  and  animosities  by 
an  attempt  to  hold  an  election  with  obnoxious 
disabilities  placed  upon  the  voters  and  office- 
holders. Now,  Mr.  President,  I  honestly  and 
conscientiously  believe  this  bad  policy,  and  for 
that  reason  I  have  offered  my  amendment.  I 
hope  nothing  I  have  said  will  be  taken  in  a 
spirit  of  unkindness  by  the  gentleman  from 
Cooper.  I  have  not  referred  to  his  past  record 
for  any  other  purpose  than  to  show  him  the 
impropriety  of  attempting  to  ostracise  men  for 
changing  their  views  of  public  policy  in  the 
midst  of  the  ever-changing  circumstances  of 
this  terrible  revolution.  I  hope  that  a  mag- 
nanimous and  patriotic  spirit  will  animate  the 
bosoms  of  the  members  of  this  Convention,  and 
that  fully  realizing  the  importance  of  the  great 
crisis  that  is  now  upon  us,  no  past  differences 
shall  interpose  with  the  harmonious  action  of 
those  who  are  willing  to  labor  for  the  future 
peace  and  prosperity  of  our  State  and  country. 
Mr.  WELCH.  I  desire,  Mr.  President,  to 
offer  a  few  remarks  upon  the  distinct  proposi- 
tion now  before  the  Convention,  in  reply  prin- 
cipally to  the  remarks  made  yesterday  by  the 
gentleman  from  St.  Louis  (Mr.  Hitchcock), 
and  the  speech  just  made  by  the  gentleman 
from  Cooper.  I  shall  not,  Mr.  President,  un- 
dertake to  extend  my  remarks  into  those  fields 
which  other  gentlemen  have  explored.  I  do 
not  propose  to  discuss  politics,  the  Chicago 
platform,  or  any  other,  but  to  confine  my  re- 


marks to  the  amendment  itself.  We  propose, 
I  believe,  to  postpone  all  elections  until  August 
1864,  unless,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Governor  of 
the  State,  circumstances  may  require  an  earlier 
assemblage  of  the  Legislature.  I  do  not  un- 
derstand, Mr.  President,  that  this  Convention 
is  at  all  committed  upon  the  question  now  be- 
fore it  by  its  action  yesterday  in  regard  to  the 
qualification  of  voters.  I  think  my  friend 
from  Cooper  has  misunderstood  the  force  and 
effect  of  that  ordinance  if  he  understands  that 
the  Convention  is  in  any  way  pledged  by  the 
vote  which  was  taken  on  yesterday.  Now,  it 
is  true,  I  have  always  voted  at  former  sessions 
of  this  body  to  postpone  the  elections,  when- 
ever in  my  judgment  the  peace,  welfare,  and 
material  interests  of  the  State  required  that 
the  elections  should  be  postponed.  It  is  true 
that  when  this  body  met  and  deposed  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State,  they  proposed  a  submission 
of  their  action  to  the  people  of  the  State  for 
their  ratification.  But  the  Convention  will 
recollect  the  proclamation  issued  by  Jackson 
at  New  Madrid — a  Declaration  of  Independence 
— in  which  the  relations  of  Missouri  to  the 
Federal  Government  were  severed.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Jackson,  as  the  pretended 
Executive  of  the  State,  declared  that,  whereas 
the  Convention  had  submitted  this  question  to 
the  people  of  the  State,  that,  as  for  him  and  his, 
he  had  drawn  the  sword  and  would  submit  to 
no  other  decision  than  such  as  the  sword 
could  make;  and  when  it  was  proclaimed  by 
one  party  in  the  State  that  the  voice  of  the 
people  should  not  be  potential  in  controlling 
the  affairs  of  the  State,  we  felt  it  necessary  to 
declare  that  no  election  could  be  held.  Sir,  I 
have  at  all  times,  and  under  all  circumstances, 
desired  to  submit  this  question  to  the  people 
of  the  State;  but  if  circumstances  have  trans- 
pired which  the  wisest  of  us  could  not  foresee, 
I  do  not  understand  that  gentlemen  are  guilty 
of  inconsistency  if  they  govern  themselves  by 
the  circumstances  which  surround  them. 
While  I  have  voted  to  adjourn  this  Convention 
sine  die,  I  am  not  willing  to  do  so  now.  The 
circumstances  now  surrounding  us  are  of  such 
a  nature,  and  the  character  of  the  dangers 
which  threaten  the  State  with  a  Military  Gov- 
ernor are  of  such  a  nature,  that  I  cannot  vote 
for  an  adjournment  of  this  body  sine  die  at  this 
time.  Sir,  there  is  nothing  inconsistent  in  the 
proposition  introduced  by  the  gentleman  from 
Clay  with  the  previous  action  assumed  by  this 
body.  We  have  always  postponed  elections 
from  time  to  time,  whenever,  in  our  judgment, 


190 


the  welfare  of  the  State  of  Missouri  required  ; 
and  now,  the  only  question  before  us  to  deter- 
mine is,  does  the  welfare  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri require  an  election  of  the  Legislature  and 
a  postponement  of  all  other  elections  ? 

The  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  (Mr. 
Hitchcock)  has  alluded  to  one  important  sub- 
ject, and  he  thinks  the  necessity  of  the  case 
requires  an  assemblage  of  the  Legislature,  and 
that  authority  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  Governor  to  see  to  the  railroads  of  the 
State.  Another  proposition  is  alluded  to  by 
t'ie  gentleman  from  Cooper  in  regard  to  the 
finances  of  the  State.  My  humble  judgment 
is,  that  both  of  these  subjects  of  legislation  are 
insufficient  to  justify  the  State  in  incurring  the 
hazards  of  an  election.  Now,  the  gentleman 
from  St.  Louis  desires  a  Legislature  shall  be 
called  for  the  purpose  of  ordering  a  sale  of  the 
roads.  But  what  is  to  become  of  the  millions 
of  private  stock  in  these  roads  ?  If  the  roads 
are  sold  the  private  stock  will  be  swept  away 
by  legislation.  Representing,  as  I  do,  a  con- 
stituency that  has  aided  largely  and  generously 
in  the  construction  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  I 
do  not  feel  that  I  wo  Id  be  doing  them  or  my 
county  justice  in  urging  the  adoption  of  a 
course  that  would  forfeit  all  these  private  sub 
scriptions.  But,  sir,  as  far  as  the  question  of 
the  finances  is  concerned,  I  think  my  friend 
from  Cooper  does  not  understand  the  question 
at  all.  Does  he  suppose  that  if  this  State  is  on 
the  eve  of  bankruptcy,  that  this  Legislature 
can  save  it  ?  Does  he  suppose  that  that  body 
is  authorized  to  coin  money?  Can  they  coin 
money  and  pay  this  debt1?  Can  they  coin 
money  to  meet  the  January  and  July  interest 
on  the  State  debt?  Assuredly  not.  But  the 
money  must  come  out  of  the  pockets  of  the 
people  of  the  ^tate  by  taxation,  and  the  laws 
are  now  all  sufficient  for  that  purpose.  If  the 
gentleman  from  Cooper  w  ill  examine  the  re- 
venue law  of  the  State,  he  will  find  there  is 
already  sufficient  authority  for  the  collection 
of  the  revenue  of  the  State.  He  has  alluded  to 
the  fact  of  the  report  of  the  Auditor  that  only 
$300,000  in  taxes  for  the  year  1861  had  been 
received  into  the  treasury.  But,  sir,  if  a  Le- 
gislature shall  meet,  will  they  bring  it  in  any 
faster?  Why,  in  a  large  number  of  counties 
thsre  are  no  collectors  !  Can  a  Legislature 
bring  the  money  into  the  treasury  without  col- 
lectors ?  I  repeat  it  distinctly,  that  there  is  all 
the  machinery  necessary  for  the  collection  of 
the  revenue  of  the  State,  and  it  would  be  use- 
less to  provide  any  more.  Do  you  want  money 


to  pay  the  State  debt?  If  so,  you  must  raise 
it  by  taxation  ;  but  I  apprehend  the  people  are 
not  prepared  for  increased  taxation  at  this  time, 
and  I  assert  it  without  fear  of  contradiction, 
that  there  is  no  necessity  for  the  passage  of 
one  solitary  general  law  of  the  State,  unless  I 
might,  perhaps,  except  an  act  for  the  support 
of  the  Government,  which  is  nothing  more 
than  an  act  to  appropriate  money  from  the 
treasury  to  the  different  funds  to  which  it  is 
usually  appropriated.  My  friend  from  St. 
Louis  thought  that  was  a  tremendous  work — 
the  passage  of  an  appropriation  bill  making  ap- 
propriations for  the  different  funds  necessary 
to  carry  on  the  Government.  Why,  I  have 
seen  these  bills  passed  in  this  Hall  and  it  never 
took  more  than  five  minutes  to  dispose  of  them. 
Then  look  at  the  expenditure  of  a  Legislature. 
There  are  the  laws  and  journals  to  be  publish- 
ed, and  a  thousand  incidental  expenses  which 
always  attend  the  assembling  of  our  Legisla- 
ture, besides  the  $5  per  diem  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty-six  members  in  the  two  branches.  I 
repeat  then,  Mr.  President,  why  the  necessity 
of  calling  a  Legislature  ?  and  I  defy  any  gen- 
tleman on  this  floor  to  take  the  statutes  of  this 
State  and  show  that  there  is  any  actual  neces- 
sity for  the  assembling  of  a  Legislature.  If 
hereafter  a  Legislature  should  be  required, 
th°n  the  Governor  could  issue  a  call  for  one. 
But  even  that  meets  with  the  objection  of  the 
gentleman  from  Cooper.  He  designates  it  as 
a  "  kingly  power,"  but,  instead  of  being  such, 
it  is  one  which  is  authorized  by  the  Constitu- 
tion ;  and  whenever  in  his  judgment  it  is  re- 
quired, the  Governor  is  fully  empowered  to 
call  a  session  of  the  Legislature.  These,  Mr. 
President,  are  my  views  in  regard  to  this 
matter.  I  believe,  sir,  that  the  future  welfare 
of  the  State  requires  that  the  condition  of  peace 
which  is  now  upon  us  shall  be  permitted  to 
remain.  As  has  been  remarked  by  other  gen- 
tlemen, there  are  thousands  of  men  who  are 
now  quietly  yielding  their  support  to  the  Pro- 
visional Government  who  have  heretofore  bit- 
terly opposed  it,  and  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the 
State  is  increasing  every  day.  Now,  sir,  I  can 
see  no  necessity  for  this  Legislature,  and  as  I 
b?lieve  it  will  be  attended  with  trouble  in  the 
different  precincts  where  an  election  can  be 
held — and  there  are  hundreds  of  places  where 
it  cannot  be  held — I  am  unwilling  to  incur  the 
responsibility  of  ordering  an  election.  Gov- 
ernor Jackson,  as  I  remarked  before,  said  the 
question  should  be  settled  by  the  sword,  and 
iiis  supporters  will  follow  out  that  declaration. 


191 


Believing,  therefore,  that  the  welfare  of  the 
State  and  our  best  interests  will  be  promoted 
by  postponing  the  flections,  1  have  felt  eon- 
strained  to  support  the  amendment  of  the  gen- 
tleman from  Clay. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS.  Mr.  President,  this  Conven- 
tion will  bear  me  evidence  that  I  have  not  con- 
sumed much  of  its  time  during  its  sessions, 
and  I  should  not  now  trespass  upon  its  delibe- 
rations but  for  the  remarkable  speech  of  my 
respected  colleague  from  Saline.  He,  sir,  has 
seen  fit  to  arraign  me  before  this  body  and  the 
country  for  inconsistency.  I  thought  the  gen- 
tleman might  have  been  content  to  defend  his 
own  varient  record  without  calling  attention  to 
mine.  It  may  be  that  both  have  changed  our 
original  positions.  But  the  difference  is  I  have 
varied  to  the  side  of  my  country  and  patriot- 
ism, while  he  to  that  of  treason  and  open  re- 
bell'on  It  is  true,  with  him,  in  the  canvass,  I 
spoke  against  coercion.  But  the  difference  be- 
tween us  was  that  I  cut  with  a  two-edged  sword, 
and  he  with  a  one-edged  sword.  Mine  cut 
north  and  south,  while  his  cut  only  northward. 
I  was  opposed  to  coercion.  But  I  was  opposed 
to  the  South  coercing  the  Government  as  well 
as  the  Government  wrongfully  coercing  the 
South.  But,  sir,  when  the  rebels  of  South  Car- 
olina fired  upon  and  insulted  our  National  flag; 
when  she  opened  her  batteries  upon  our  fort 
and  its  heroic  garrison ;  when  the  astounding 
development  was  made  that  Secretary  Flo}Td 
had  scattered  our  navy  to  the  most  distant 
ports,  and  enabled  the  South  to  rob  mints,  ar- 
senals, and  dockyards ;  when  it  was  discovered 
that  a  plot,  deep,  dark  and  foul,  existed  in  the 
South  to  tear  down  the  very  temple  of  our  lib- 
erties, there  was  presented  but  two  alterna- 
tives—either to  side  with  the  Government  and 
patriotism,  or  with  rebels  and  treason.  I  chose 
the  former,  the  gentleman  the  latter.  What 
record  has  he  made  ?  The  Bast  amendment 
proposed  that  in  the  event  Virginia,  Maryland, 
North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  and 
Kentucky,  seceded,  Missouri  should  join  them. 
He  voted  no.  And  yet,  when  only  a  part  of 
these  States  seceded,  he  is  for  going  with  Sa- 
line county,  and  leaving  Kentucky,  Missouri, 
and  Maryland  behind. 

The  gentleman  has  resurrected  the  dead 
corps  of  the  "  Home  Guards"  organization. 
Had  there  been  no  "  State  Guards"  there  would 
have  been  no  "  Home  Guards."  The  outrages 
of  the  former  begot  the  latter.  "  Salus  popuii 
suprema  lex  esto"  was  inscribed  on  the  banner 
of  the  latter.  They  may  have  arrested  many 


peaceful  citizens  in  Saline,  but  Gen.  Pope,  at 
Milford,  bagged  and  hived  about  five  hundred 
more  of  these  peaceful  citizens  from  Saline, 
who,  with  horses  and  wagons,  stolen  from  the 
Government,  were  making  their  way  to  "  Dix- 
ie's land,"  in  search  of  their  "rights,"  and 
they  all  got  their  "rights"  in  the  Alton  peni- 
tentiary. 

I  am  no  friend,  no  admirer,  of  Jennison.  He 
deserves  a  niche  in  a  felon's  cell.  But  does  the 
gentleman  not  know  that  the  Government,  so 
far  from  countenancing  his  vandalism,  sent 
Major  Marshall  from  Sedalia — one  of  the  most 
gallant  an'l  noble  men  who  ever  wore  a  uni- 
form— to  drive  Jennison  from  the  State.  He 
did  go ;  but  before  he  had  gone  thirty  miles  on 
his  mission,  he  was  assassinated  by  one  of  the 
gentleman's  chivalrous  friends  !  He  sees  rapine, 
desolation  and  outrage  only  in  the  march  of 
the  Federal  army.  He  forgets  that  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  of  his  rebel  army  proclaimed 
to  the  world  that  he  had  done  what  no  other 
General  in  all  war  history  had  been  able  to  do — 
that  is,  he  had  maintained  in  the  field  an  army 
of  twenty  thousand  men,  for  a  summer's  cam- 
paign, without  costing  a  cent.  Then,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  he  had  stolen  everything  con- 
sumed, or  given  State  scrip,  which  is  not  worth 
fifteen  cents  by  the  housefull,  screwed  down 
with  a  tobacco  press.  [Laughter.]  The  histo- 
ry of  that  army  is  one  of  blood,  plunder,  con- 
fiscation and  outrage  upon  society ;  and  yet, 
the  gentleman  can  see  nothing  there  to  con- 
demn. 

He  says  he  is  "subjugated."  Great  God! 
if  he  talks  such  treason  when  "subjugated," 
how  "  rantankerous"  he  must  have  been  before 
he  was  subdued  !  How  must  he  have  breathed 
vengeance,  fire  and  blood  when  he  had  "ample 
scope  and  verge  enough"  to  ventilate  his  spleen 
against  the  Government !  I  congratulate  the 
gentleman  upon  his  confession.  I  used  to  be  a 
submissionist  when  the  gentleman  belonged  to 
the  chivalry  who  would  "shed  the  last  drop 
of  blood"  before  they  would  submit  to  "Lin- 
coln despotism."  Now  he  is  "subjugated" 
without  the  loss  of  the  first,  much  less  the  last, 
drop  of  blood  !  I  commend  the  gentleman  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  a  charitable  public. 

Mr.  President,  I  am  free  to  confess  that  the 
proposition  now  before  the  Convention  is  not 
without  its  difficulties  and  perplexities  to  my 
mind.  I  have  been  greatly  exercised  to  know 
where  the  path  of  duty  lies  in  this  matter.  And, 
sir,  after  much  deliberation  upon  this  subject, 
my  conviction  is  that  the  interests  of  the  State 


192 


would  be  best  subserved,  that  the  peace  of 
the  State  would  be  speedily  restored,  and  that 
its  life  would  be  best  preserved,  by  going  to 
the  people  at  once,  at  the  ordinary  election  in 
August  next.  Now,  how  far  this  election  should 
go,  and  to  what  extent,  must  be  determined 
solely  by  the  necessities  of  the  case.  This 
Convention  ought  not  to  be  governed  in  its  de- 
liberations here  by  any  personal  or  party  con- 
siderations, but  they  ought  to  act  solely  with 
regard  to  the  public  welfare.  I  was  opposed  to 
having  an  election  last  year,  because  at  that 
time  the  State  was  not  in  a  condition  to  hold 
an  election.  Then,  sir,  there  were  one  hun- 
dred thousand  armed  men  in  the  State,  count- 
ing both  sides.  There  was  not  a  precinct, 
hamlet,  or  neighborhood,  in  the  whole  State  of 
Missouri,  where  there  were  not  armed  bodies 
of  men.  The  public  mind  was  so  excited  that 
it  was  not  in  a  condition  to  consider  and  reflect 
upon  the  civil  affairs  of  the  Government.  But, 
sir,  how  is  it  now  ?  Comparative  peace  pre- 
vails throughout  all  our  borders.  The  armies 
have  been  removed  from  the  State,  and  only  a 
sufficient  number  of  troops  are  left  for  the  en- 
forcement of  law  and  order.  It  has  been  con- 
tended here,  sir,  by  the  friends  of  no  election 
that  the  people  of  Missouri  have  grown  tired 
of  this  war,  and  are  ready  to  lay  down  their 
arms  and  return  to  their  allegiance  to  the  Gov- 
ernment. Well,  if  there  has  been  any  virtue 
and  force  in  this  argument,  surely,  sir,  the  man 
who  desires  that  the  loyalty  of  this  State  shall 
be  sacred  at  the  ballot-box,  can  raise  no  possi- 
ble objection  to  having  an  election  in  August 
next.  We  have  heard  much,  Mr.  President, 
about  returning  to  the  old  order  of  things.  It 
would  be  like  the  old  order  of  things  to  have  a 
good  old-fashioned  election  in  August  next. 
The  people  of  the  State  have  been  accustomed 
to  go  to  the  ballot-box  and  arbitrate  all  ques- 
tions of  State  and  National  policy  in  that  peace 
ful  manner.  They  have  been  accustomed  to 
appeal  to  ballots,  and  not  bullets ;  and  if  the 
public  mind  is  in  such  a  happy  condition  as  was 
represented  here  a  few  days  ago  by  the  oppo- 
nents of  this  restrictive  act,  surely  they  are  in 
a  condition  to  go  to  the  polls,  and  express  their 
choice  for  the  people  who  are  to  make  the  laws 
and  control  the  civil  offices  of  the  Government. 
I  have  no  fears,  Mr.  President,  about  the  result 
of  the  election,  and  I  ha/e  no  doubt  its  moral 
influence  will  do  more  towards  restoring  the 
old  order  of  things  in  the  State  of  Missouri 
than  twenty  battles. 

Mr.  President,   I  desire  to  know  whether 


these  repentant  rebels  are  in  earnest  when  they 
come  back  and  proclaim  their  loyalty  and  alle- 
giance ;  for  if  this  war  is  to  be  fought  over  in 
Missouri,  I  say  let  it  come  now  and  quickly, 
or,  as  my  friend  from  Buchanan  says,  "while 
we  have  the  guns  in  our  own  hands."  After 
the  sad  experience  of  Missouri  during  the  last 
year;  after  the  sad  experience  of  all  those  men 
who  have  gone  in  a  vain  search  after  their 
rights,  and  who  have  tried  to  live  on  cotton 
without  salt;  after  the  restrictions  thrown 
around  the  ballot-box;  after  the  prestige  of 
victory  that  perches  on  our  standard  wherever 
it  goes,  surely  loyal  men  in  Missouri  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  the  consequences  of  an 
election  in  August.  Mr.  President,  it  is  ad- 
mitted by  the  most  stringent  opposers  of  an 
election  that  there  must  be  an  election  for  Con- 
gressmen. They  are  opposed  to  a  general  elec- 
tion because  they  do  not  wish  to  agitate  the 
questions  now  before  the  public  mind  ;  yet, 
these  same  gentlemen  are  in  favor  of  a  Con- 
gressional election.  What  issue  that  most 
concerns  the  public  mind  would  be  discussed 
by  the  candidates  for  county  offices  and  would 
not  be  discussed  by  the  candidates  for  Con- 
gress ?  Sir,  the  whole  nation,  the  whole  civil- 
ized world,  look  forward  with  apprehension, 
fear  and  trembling  to  the  mighty  issues  to  be 
brought  before  the  next  National  Legislature. 
Questions  that  Avill  determine  the  future  glory 
and  destiny  of  the  whole  country  will  be 
brought  before  the  consideration  of  that  Legis- 
lature. And,  sir,  can  it  be  that  the  candidates 
before  the  people  who  are  to  discuss  such  pow- 
erful and  mighty  issues  as  these  will  produce 
less  agitation  throughout  the  State  than  those 
men  canvassing  for  county  offices  and  the  Le- 
gislature. I  tell  you  the  Congressional  canvass 
will  convulse  the  State  from  centre  to  circum- 
ference, and  all  these  issues  that  the  country  is 
seeking  to  avoid,  by  seeking  to  postpone,  will 
be  thrust  upon  the  people,  however  determined 
they  may  be  to  avoid  them. 

Mr.  President,  there  are  questions  for  legis- 
lation in  this  State  that,  to  my  mind,  are  im- 
perative. Questions  of  reliefs  and  remedies, 
of  finance,  of  railroads,  of  crimes  and  punish- 
ments, are  daily  thrust  upon  us,  and  are  suf- 
fering and  perishing  for  want  of  a  Legislature. 
The  wheels  of  government  must  stop  in  the 
State  unless  a  Legislature  is  elected.  I  know 
in  many  counties  sheriffs  have  resigned  their 
offices  rather  than  run  the  risks  of  attempting 
to  collect  the  revenue,  while  others  have  been 
nduced  to  serve  processes  and  execute  judg- 


193 


ments  under  the  promise  that  a  Legislature 
would  be  elected  this  summer,  and  that  they 
would  be  relieved.  Sheriffs  cannot  collect  the 
necessary  revenue.  They  have  become  liable 
on  their  bonds  for  it,  and  they  have  been  in- 
duced to  assume  a  personal  risk,  with  the  ex- 
pectation of  having  relief  from  the  Legislature. 
And  is  this  Convention  now  going  to  suffer 
these  patriotic  men,  who,  at  the  hazard  of  their 
lives  and  the  risk  of  their  property,  came  up 
boldly  and  executed  the  civil  laws  of  the 
gtate, — are  you  going  to  permit  these  men,  for 
the  want  of  a  Legislature,  to  be  ruined  1  Mr. 
Pre.-ident,  the  amendment  proposes  to  invest 
the  Executive  with  extraordinary  powers,  the 
policy  of  which  is  questionable.  It  proposes 
that  there  shall  be  no  election,  and  that  the 
Governor  shall  make  the  necessary  appoint- 
ments. Sir,  I  believe  the  people  prefer  to  elect 
their  own  county  officers.  The  gentleman 
from  Johnson  (Mr.  Welch)  says  that  this  au- 
thorizing the  Governor  to  call  the  Legislature 
is  no  new  exercise  of  power,  because  there  is 
a  provision  in  the  existing  law  of  this  State 
enabling  the  Governor  to  do  that.  That  is 
quite  a  different  proposition.  There  is  no  law 
enabling  a  Governor  to  call  a  Legislature  that 
is  not  in  existence.  The  Governor  may,  at 
any  time,  call  a  Legislature  that  is  in  existence, 
but  here  it  is  proposed  to  leave  it  entirely  to 
the  Governor  whether  he  will  call  a  Legisla- 
ture or  not.  Mr.  President,  I  would  be  willing 
to  trust  him  as  far  as  any  man,  and  I  have  the 
most  unbounded  confidence  in  his  .patriotism, 
judgment  and  honesty ;  but  I  believe  the  peo- 
ple would  think  it  was  taking  the  power  from 
them,  and  I  am  wholly  opposed  to  it. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  It  has  become  quite  common 
here  to  impugn  the  motives  of  gentlemen  who 
advocate  a  certain  policy ;  and  as  I,  sir,  pro- 
posed and  reported  to  this  house  the  proposi- 
tion contained  in  the  amendment,  I  propose  to 
submit  a  few  remarks  in  relation  to  the  course 
of  the  gentleman  from  Monroe — his  course  out- 
side the  Convention,  and  also  inside.  Now, 
sir,  the  gentleman  from  Monroe,  if  he  knows 
himself,  and  he  thinks  he  does,  slightly,  lias 
always  been  a  very  conservative  gentleman. 
He  has  always  opposed  the  radicalism  and 
agitation  growing  out  of  the  negro  question, 
whether  that  agitation  was  in  the  North  or 
South,  and  whether  it  was  in  the  North  or 
South  carried  on  by  unprincipled  demagogues 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  do  not  understand  that 
the  negro  question,  which  some  gentlemen 

13 


seem  determined  to  force  upon  us,  is  before 
the  Convention,  and  I,  therefore,  call  the  gen- 
tleman to  order. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  Sir,  the  gentleman  from  Mon- 
roe has  no  disposition  to  agitate  this  question. 
Mr.  President,  I  voted  against  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  when  there  was  hardly 
another  man  in  my  district  that  did  it,  because 
I  believed  it  would  have  a  bad  effect.  I  voted 
against  Mr.  Henderson,  and  also  against  Mr. 
Anderson,  and  always  have  been  opposed  to 
the  agitation  of  this  negro  question.  These 
are,  and  have  been,  the  antecedents  of  the  gen- 
tleman from  Monroe,  outside  of  this  Conven- 
tion. When  I  was  a  candidate  for  this  Con- 
vention I  took  occasion  to  fully  set  forth  my 
position  before  my  constituents,  and  they  un- 
derstood it  very  well.  I  told  them  I  was  loyak 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ;  that 
I  believed  secession  would  be  no  remedy  for 
the  ills  we  were  laboring  under ;  that  a  rebel- 
lion would  be  the  utter  destruction  of  the  slave 
States,  and  only  end  in  the  utter  desolation  and 
destruction  of  our  State;  and  that  opinion,  sir, 
I  still  hold,  and  I  have  never  modified  that  po- 
sition here  or  at  home.  Sir,  can  any  gentle- 
man in  this  Convention,  or  most  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  Convention,  say  they  occupy  to- 
day, in  this  Convention,  precisely  the  position 
they  occupied  at  the  time  of  the  assembling  of 
this  Convention,  and,  sir,  anterior  to  this  Con- 
vention,— at  the  time  they  were  candidates  be- 
fore the  people  ?  Now,  when  Jackson  first  is- 
sued his  proclamation  declaring  war  against 
the  United  States,  I  had  an  opinion  as  to  what 
ought  to  have  been  done  at  that  precise  time, 
and  I  expressed  that  opinion  in  my  own  local- 
ty  very  freely ;  and,  sir,  I  had  a  correspon- 
dence with  various  gentlemen  of  this  Conven- 
tion at  that  time  as  to  what  ought  to  have  been 
done.  The  Convention  was  finally  called,  Mr. 
President.  The  whole  country  was  filled  with 
excitement.  The  military  had  been  precipita- 
ted on  the  country,  and  when  we  assembled 
here  we  assembled  in  the  midst  of  passion  and 
prejudice  of  every  description,  and  I  doubted 
at  that  time  the  propriety  of  this  Convention 
intervening,  as  we  had  delayed  action  so  long. 
I  believed  then  that  the  issue  was  to  be  met  by 
the  military  authorities,  and  that  the  action  of 
this  Convention  would  only  further  complicate 
our  difficulties.  I  believed  that  issue  would 
have  to  be  determined  by  the  General  Govern- 
ment on  the  one  side,  and  the  sympathizers  of 
the  Southern  Confederacy  on  the  other,  before 
any  legislative  action  could  be  had,  and  conse- 


194 


quently  I  preferred  delaying  action  until  that 
issue  had  passed,  and  the  people  had  become 
satisfied  what  their  political  status  in  the  Un- 
ion would  be.  If  I  erred,  it  was  an  error  of 
the  head  and  not  of  the  heart.  When  the 
Convention  deposed  the  Governor  and  the  Le- 
gislature, and  repealed  the  odious  laws  of  the 
last  session  of  the  Legislature,  I  believed  that 
this  Convention,  according  to  the  theories  of 
such  bodies,  had  the  power  to  do  that  thing.  I 
went  home  and  justified  the  exercise  of  that 
power  as  a  legal  question  before  my  people, 
and  when  I  could  scarcely  get  an  audience  to 
give  me  a  hearing.  I  voted  for  H.  R.  Gamble, 
and  for  your  present  Lieutenant  Governor  and 
Secretary  of  State,  because,  on  looking  over 
the  field  from  which  we  could  select,  I  was  sat- 
isfied they  were  as  good  material  as  we  could 
select  within  the  boundaries  of  the  State,  and 
my  course  has  ever  been  fixed  since  that.  In 
what  has  it  been  inconsistent  with  my  present 
position  ?  I  have  not  only  been  loyal  in  rela- 
tion to  the  position  of  Missouri,  but  to  the 
duties  I  thought  we  owed  our  membership  in 
this  Convention.  Although  I  was  satisfied 
that  a  large  portion  of  my  people  disagreed 
with  me  about  the  most  of  these  things,  I  have 
obeyed  every  summons  to  appear  here  in  this 
body.  I  was  here  in  July,  and  at  St.  Louis  in 
October,  and  I  am  here  again  to-day ;  and 
whenever  duty  requires  me  to  be  here,  I,  sir, 
shall  be  loyal  to  that  duty  if  I  have  the  physi- 
cal ability  to  carry  it  out. 

But,  in  regard  to  this  proposition.  It  matters 
but  little  to  me  what  opinion  gentlemen  may 
have  of  my  course  here  or  elsewhere.  I  voted 
last  Fall  to  continue  the  election  until  August 
next,  because  I  believed  it  could  not  be  held 
consistently  with  the  welfare  and  interests  of 
the  State ;  and  I  believe  an  election  cannot  now 
be  had  so  as  to  promote  its  interests.  I  be- 
lieve an  election  now  will  only  complicate  our 
difficulties.  Is  this  a  rebel  or  disloyal  propo- 
sition 1  Does  it  squint  towards  it  in  the  slight- 
est degree  ?  Not  at  all.  On  the  contrary,  it 
is  a  proposition  to  make  this  Government 
strictly  loyal,  from  the  highest  officer  to  the 
lowest,  from  Governor  to  Constable.  Now,  I 
apprehend,  that  the  authors  and  movers  of  the 
proposition  have  no  other  desire  than  to  keep 
this  Government  in  the  loyal  track  —  and, 
sir,  at  the  same  time,  as  far  as  possible,  to  har- 
monize the  country.  But,  sir,  it  is  said  that  by 
the  amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Shelby,  we  are  empowering  our  Governor  with 
kingly  powers  and  prerogatives.  Sir,  the  gen- 


tleman who  gave  utterance  to  that  sentiment 
certainly  could  not  have  matured  it  in  his  own 
mind.  The  power,  as  was  well  remarked  by 
the  gentleman  who  preceded  me,  exists  in  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  convene,  on 
extraordinary  occasions,  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  The  Governor,  under  the  Con- 
stitution, has  power  to  convene  the  Legislature 
in  times  of  emergency ;  and  now,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, I  want  to  know  whether  the  gentleman 
has  not  in  this  Convention,  time  and  again,  vo- 
ted for  the  bestowment  of  this  kingly  power 
upon  the  Executive  of  the  State,  where  I  pro- 
pose to  leave  it.  Sir,  at  the  July  Convention 
did  he  not  vote  that  the  Governor  should  con- 
vene this  body  whenever  the  public  exigencies 
required  it  ?  Did  he  not  renew  the  demand 
in  October,  and  require  the  Governor,  whenev- 
er he  thought  proper,  to  convene  this  body? 
Has  there  been  any  exercise  of  that  kingly 
power  to  which  the  gentleman  refers  ?  Sir, 
my  faith  in  the  integrity,  patriotism  and  abil- 
ity of  that  gentleman  to  exercise  the  position 
of  Chief  Magistrate  has  not  been  so  impaired 
as  that  I  cannot  continue  to  trust  this  power 
in  his  hands. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  I  should  not  have  felt  it  at 
all  necessary  to  trouble  the  Convention  with 
any  further  remarks  had  it  not  been  for  the 
course  of  argument  pursued  by  the  gentleman 
from  Clay.  The  gentleman  from  Clay  has 
seen  fit,  in  order,  it  seems,  t"  convict  me  of 
some  political  inconsistency,  to  refer  back  to 
old  party  associations.  "Why,  sir,  I  had  sup- 
posed that  such  an  humble  individual  as  my- 
self, one  who  has  engaged  so  little  in  the 
political  tournaments  in  Missouri  in  past  days 
— that  my  position  upon  old,  dead  party  issues 
was  riot  known  beyond  the  limits  of  my  own 
county.  But  it  seems,  sir,  it  has  become  known 
in  the  county  which  the  gentleman  from  Clay 
represents  with  so  much  distinguished  ability 
here.  Why,  he  told  this  Convention  that  I 
had  once  been  a  member  of  the  Whig  party, 
and  that  I  had  changed  and  gone  into  the 
Democratic  party.  And,  sir,  he  evidently  en- 
deavored to  produce  a  great  deal  of  cachination 
by  sketching  a  fancy  picture  of  myself  about 
to  enter  the  grand  councils  of  the  Democratic 
party.  Sir,  I  was  a  member  of  the  Whig 
party;  but  if  I  have  not  read  history  incorrect- 
ly, and  if  I  have  not  been  misinformed,  the 
gentleman  from  Clay  forsook  the  Whig  party 
before  I  did,  and  placed  himself  upon  a  plat- 
form which  declared  that  the  party  he  was 
then  acting  with  had  risen  upon  the  ruins  of 


195 


the  Whig:  party.  He,  sir,  was  guilty — and  |  did,  I  might  say,  because  he  helped  to  put 
those  who  acted  with  him — of  the  crime,  if  it  Jackson  in  the  gubernatorial  chair,  he  was 
was  a  crime,  of  assassinating  the  Whig  party,  himself  a  traitor.  But  the  gentleman  is  re- 
Sir,  if  I  remember  rightly,  the  gentleman  at  one  |  pentant,  and  I  do  not  desire  to  overhaul  his 
time  in  his  political  career — it  was  only  a  short  accord  further, 
time  ago — that  the  gentleman  might  have  been 
seen  groping  his  uncertain  way  with  stealthy 
steps,  and  by  the  uncertain  glimmer  of  a  dark 
lantern,  up  into  some  obscure  garret,  and  there,  j  Mr.  DOUGLASS.  Did  you  not  vote  for  John 
with  three  knocks,  asking  admission  into  the  Bell  for  President? 
dark  and  secret  councils  of  a  Know-Nothing  j  Mr.  Moss.  Yes,  because  he  was  for  the 


Mr.  DOUGLASS.     Who  did  you  vote  for? 
Mr.  Moss.     Sample  Orr  is  the  man  who  got 
my  vote. 


party.     My  garments  are  guiltless  of  the  blood 


of  the  Whig  party, 
much? 


Can  the  gentleman  say  as 


Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the  enforcement 
of  the  laws.  But  you  voted  for  Jackson  be- 
cause he  offered  the  Jackson  resolutions  and 


I  may  as  well  notice  a  remark  made  by  the   announced  himself  a  secessionist  more  than 


presiding  officer  of  this  Convention,  and  re- 
peated by  the  gentleman  from  Monroe.  The 
gentleman  says,  in  substance,  that  it  would  be 
as  proper  to  confer  upon  the  Governor  of  this 
State  the  power  to  say  whether  there  shall  be  a 
Legislature  or  not,  as  to  confer  upon  him  the 
power  to  call  an  existing  Legislature.  Sir, 
there  is  a  vast  difference,  and  one  which  is 
apparent  to  the  mind  of  the  most  superficial 
observer.  What  is  it  we  propose  to  invest  the 
Governor  with  ?  The  power  to  declare  whether 
we  shall  have  any  Legislature  or  not — not 
whether  a  Legislature  shall  be  convened  in 


extraordinary  session, 
is  wrong  in  principle. 


I  say  the  proposition 
It  is  right  to  give  the 


Governor  the  power  which  the  Constitution 
confers  on  him  to  call  an  existing  Legislature 
into  extraordinary  session  j  but,  sir,  has  it  ever 
before  been  heard  of,  in  the  history  of  Ameri- 
can legislation,  that  the  chief  Executive  of  the 
National  or  State  Government  should  be  in- 
vested with  the  power  to  say  whether  there 
should  be  any  legislative  body  or  not?  Sir, 
that  power  is  a  kingly  prerogative ;  it  is  placed 
only  in  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe;  and, I 
trust  in  God  the  day  will  never  come  when  any 
Executive  magistrate  in  this  country  will  be 
invested  with  such  a.  power. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  wish  to  make  a  personal  ex- 
planation. I  fear  the  gentleman  from  Cooper 
misunderstood  the  object  and  purpose  for  which 
I  reviewed  his  past  history  this  morning.  It 
was  not  to  show  the  gentleman  had  been  in- 
consistent; it  was  not  to  harrow  up  any 
unpleasant  feelings  in  his  bosom,  but  to  show 
him  his  record,  and  that  it  was  wrong  to  impugn 
the  motives  of  others  because  they  may  happen 
to  differ  in  opinion  from  the  gentleman  himself. 
The  gentleman  has  said  his  hands  are  guiltless 
of  the  blood  of  the  Whig  party.  Well,  I  will 
not  charge  him  with  anything  of  that  sort ;  if  I 


with  having  voted  for  Claib.  Jackson, 
believing  him  to  be  an  honest  man. 


fifteen  years  ago.     [Laughter.] 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  until  2 
o'clock. 

AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

Met  at  2  o'clock. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  The  gentleman  from  Clay, 
not  satisfied  with  going  back  and  digging  up 
the  reminiscences  of  fossil  parties,  charges  me 

I  did  so, 
I  heard 

him  upon  the  stump,  in  various  parts  of  the 
State,  make  fervent  and  eloquent  Union 
speeches.  The  Douglas  party,  who  looked 
to  Stephen  A.  Douglas  as  their  great  and 
gallant  leader,  also  supported  Jackson  for  Gov- 
ernor ;  and  the  leader  of  that  party  was  always 
true  to  the  Constitution  of  his  countiy;  and  his 
expiring  breath  was  devoted  to  an  exhortation 
to  the  American  people  to  stand  by  the  Con- 
stitution of  their  fathers.  But  there  is  a 
remarkable  difference  between  the  gentleman 
from  Clay  and  myself.  When  I  discovered  the 
treason  of  Jackson,  that  he  was  a  traitor  to  the 
Constitution  and  the  laws  of  his  country,  I 
voted  to  hurl  him  from  his  seat  in  disgrace. 
How  was  it  with  the  gentleman  from  Clay? 
He  hugged  the  traitor  to  his  bosom  and  refused 
to  turn  him  from  office,  and  by  his  action  in- 
directly voted  to  retain  him  in  office  after  his 
treason  was  patent  and  manifest  to  the  whole 
country. 

Mr.  Moss.  I  forgive  the  gentleman  for 
voting  for  Jackson,  notwithstanding  he  knew 
he  had  been  a  traitor  for  fifteen  years.  The 
gentleman  knew  he  was  a  traitor  at  the  time 
he  voted  for  him  ;  but  I  forgive  him,  and  am 
ready  to  shake  hands  and  let  by-gones  be  by- 
gones. 


196 


Mr.  SOL  SMITH.  These  reminiscences  are 
very  interesting,  but  quite  foreign  to  the  matters 
befoi  e  us.  After  the  very  able  discussion  here 
this  morning — I  think  the  most  able  I  ever  heard 
on  any  subject  anywhere — it  would  be  little 
less  than  ridiculous  for  me  to  say  anything  on 
the  subject.  I  only  wish  to  give  my  reasons  for 
the  vote  I  shall  give  ;  and  I  do  it  now,  because 
I  consider  it  out  of  order  v;hen  my  name  is 
called.  I  held  a  little  caucus  last  night  up  in 
my  room  at  Dr.  Brunz's  house,  and  discussed 
the  matter  in  my  own  mind,  and  came  to  certain 
conclusions,  which  I  put  down  on  paper.  In 
the  morning  I  doubted  whether  I  had  come  to 
the  right  conclusion  ;  for  I  must  say  I  had  a 
great  many  doubts  how  to  vote.  I  moved  a 
reconsideration,  and  then,  to  get  rid  of  that,  I 
chose  to  move  to  lay  that  motion  on  the  table, 
and  it  was  carried  unanimously — I  voting 
affirmatively.  These,  Mr.  President,  are  the 
few  reasons  I  wish  to  give. 

I  am  satisfied,  Mr.  President,  that  a  majority 
of  my  constituents  are  in  favor  of  allowing  the 
regular  election  for  members  of  the  General 
Assembly  to  go  on.  Being  so  satisfied,  it  is 
enough  tor  me.  I  came  here  to  execute  their 
will,  and  not  to  indulge  in  any  fancy  of  my 
own  on  this  or  any  other  subject.  I  shall  vote 
to  retain  the  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor, 
and  Secretary  of  State  in  their  places  until  the 
regular  election  under  the  Constitution  in  1864, 
because  I  believe  that  will  meet  the  wishes 
and  agree  with  the  judgment  of  the  people  who 
elected  me,  as  well  as  those  who  voted  against 
our  ticket.  Another  reason  for  keeping  in 
office  the  present  incumbents  is  this  :  we  know 
these  men ;  and  if  the  fears  of  some  of  our 
honorable  members  are  well  founded,  and  there 
is  danger  of  electing  a  radical  Legislature — 
radical  on  any  subject — here  we  have  and  will 
have  a  Governor  ready  to  interpose  the  veto  on 
any  radical  legislation. 

Independent  of  these  considerations,  how- 
ever, there  is  one  consideration  which  outweighs 
all  others  with  me.  The  people  should  be 
allowed  to  resume  the  powers — the  immense 
and  almost  unlimited  powers — with  which  they 
have  clothed  us.  If  no  Legislature  is  permitted 
to  be  elected  we  shall  be  obliged  to  come  to- 
gpther  again,  and  our  action  would  inevitably 
dwindle  down  to  the  smallest  kind  of  local 
legislation,  a  specimen  of  which  is  recorded  in 
the  p  oceedings  of  yesterday.  The  people 
trusted  us — I  am  willing  to  trust  them — and 
with  the  guards  we  have  felt  it  to  be  our  du'y 
to  throw  around  the  ballot-box,  I  do  not  doubt 


a  Legislature  will  be  elected  which  will  be  loyal 
to  the  Union  and  loyal  to  the  State.  I  vote 
against  the  amendment. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  A  single  word,  Mr.  President, 
in  explanation  of  the  vote  I  shall  record  upon 
this  amendment.  Acting  upon  the  view  of 
legislative  duty  which  was  denoted  in  my  re- 
marks of  yesterday,  I  shall  of  course  not 
hesitate  to  co  operate  with  others  in  rendering 
this  ordinance  as  consistent  and  as  perfect  as 
may  be,  so  that  if  it  shall  finally  pass,  (as  I 
trust  it  may  not,)  it  may  be  at  least  referable 
to  the  same  general  reason.  After  thus  voting 
upon  the  various  amendments,  my  sense  of 
propriety  will  most  probably  restrain  me  from 
voting  at  all  upon  the  question  of  its  final 
adoption,  particularly  as  my  friend  from 
Buchanan,  (the  Lieutenant  Governor,;  who,  it 
is  presumed,  will  feel  somewhat  similarly  em- 
barrassed with  myself,  will  most  probably 
repeat  the  example  of  delicacy  with  which  he 
furnished  us  upon  a  former  and  analogous 
occasion  during  the  last  session  at  St.  Louis. 
For  the  present,  therefore,  concurring  in  what 
has  seemed  to  me  the  unanswered  and  unanswer- 
able arguments  of  the  delegates  from  Clay,  I 
shall  cast  my  vote  upon  the  same  theory,  which 
is,  that  if  we  are  not  in  a  condition  to  elect  a 
Governor  and  Lieutenant  Governor,  we  are  at 
least  in  no  better  condition  to  elect  such  a  Legis- 
lature as  could  alone  be  desirable  to  co-operate 
with  the  present  executive  authorities  in  restor- 
ing again  the  public  tranquility,  and  recon- 
structing ane  w  the  public  prosperity.  Desiring, 
therefore,  that  a  proposition  which,  to  my 
understanding,  is  not  legitimately  divisible, 
shall  be  embraced  for  consideration  in  the  same 
ordinance,  I  too  shall  vote  aye. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  Occupying  the  position  I 
do,  sir,  with  reference  to  the  ordinance  before 
(he  Convention  and  the  preceding  amendment 
to  it,  1  feel  it  my  duty,  sir,  to  discuss  the 
amendment  for  a  brief  period.  Mr.  President, 
of  all  debates  and  all  questions  that  I  have 
ever  heard  discussed  in  legislative  bodies,  the 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Clay  has 
elicited  more  discussion  in  proportion  to  its 
merits  than  any  I  ever  knew  of  before.  What 
is  there  in  that  amendment  to  recommend  it  to 
the  wise  discrimination  of  this  Convention  ? 
Some  gentlemen  say  lhat  if  we  can  elect  a 
part  of  the  officers,  we  can  elect  them  all  j  but 
unfortunately  for  the  gentlemen  who  favor  the 
amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Clay,  that 
argument  proves  too  much,  and  it  will  leave 
us  unrepresented  in  the  councils  of  the  nation. 


197 


In  a  crisis  like  this,  no  man  will  pretend  for  a 
moment  that  the  elections  for  Congressmen 
shall  be  dispensed  with,  or  that  this  State  shall 
not  be  represented  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  Tf  this  is  so,  sir,  will  not  this 
Congressional  election  bring  up  all  the  points 
of  excitement  that  an  election  for  State  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives  would  bring  up?  I 
say  the  argument  proves  too  much,  and  leaves 
our  State  in  these  most  perilous  of  all  times 
unrepresented  in  the  Congress  of  the  nation. 
Then,  as  we  are  forced  to  have  an  election  and 
necessity  demands  it,  why  not  elect  a  Legisla- 
ture and  other  county  officers?  The  amend- 
ment has  no  merit  when  it  comes  to  be  sifted 
to  its  foundation.  But  other  gentlemen  have 
argued  it  on  the  economy  question.  Why, 
Mr.  President,  is  the  difference  in  the  expense 
between  a  Legislature  and  that  which  will  be 
incurred  by  this  body  in  undertaking  to  legis- 
late, to  be  estimated  in  this  thing?  I  think 
not.  Again,  if  gentlemen  think  we  have  too 
many  members,  and  that  the  Constitution  can 
be  amended,  and  that  this  body  is  competent 
lo  do  if,  then  the  number  of  members  of  the 
General  Assembly  may  be  reduced,  and  in  that 
way  the  Legislature  may  be  but  little  more 
'xpensive  than  this  body.  But,  sir,  I  take  it 
lhat  this  question  of  economy  amounts  to 
nothing  in  this  matter.  It  is  trifling  with 
.questions  of  great  magnitude  to  bring  the 
jueslion  of  economy  here  and  attempt  to  in- 
•luce  members  to  support  an  amendment  like 
ihis  upon  that  principle.  There  is  no  economy 
n  it.  There  is  no  reason,  Mr.  President,  why 
the  election  should  be  postponed,  but  there  is 
every  jeason  why  it  should  take  place.  The 
distinguished  gentleman  from  Clay  (Mr.  Don- 
iphan),  in  a  speech  that  he  made  the  other 
day,  enunciated  the  correct  principle.  He  said 
that  rebellion  and  civil  law  could  not  exist  in 
the  same  body  politic  at  the  same  time — that 
the  inauguration  of  rebellion  was  the  overthrow 
of  law  and  order,  and  the  suppression  of  re- 
bellion was  its  restoration.  I  agree  with  that 
principle.  The  inauguration  of  rebellion  in 
this  State  inaugurated  anarchy,  and  law  and 
order  were  overthrown,  and  have  remained  so, 
in  a  great  measure,  till  the  present  time.  Gen- 
tlemen say  that  the  Union  delegates  here 
favored  the  postponement  of  the  election  last 
October.  That  is  true ;  and  the  reason  they 
>iostponed  it  was,  the  State  was  not  then  in  a 
condition  for  an  election.  But  mark  you  the 
difference  in  Missouri  between  that  time  and 
this  :  at  that  time  the  rebel  flag  was  floating 


in  a  large  portion  of  the  State  and. hostile  rebel 
forces  held  control  of  one-fourth  of  the  State. 
Is  that  so  now,  Mr.  President?  Has  not  the 
rebel  flag  disappeared  ?  Where  is  the  Govern, 
ment  now  in  the  State  that  raises  its  hostile 
head  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
or  the  Provisional  Government  of  the  State  of 
Missouri?  There  is  no  such  thing.  The  hos- 
tile armies  have  disappeared  from  .the  State; 
there  is  no  hostile  force  here  that  can  be  dig- 
nified by  the  appellation  of  an  organized  mili- 
tary force  ;  but  the  distinguished  gentleman 
from  Clay  argued  that  we  were  in  the  midst 
of  a  rebellion,  and  for  that  reason  the  civil  law 
could  not  be  enforced.  There  are  those  Amer- 
ican people  in  this  country,  and  individuals 
everywhere,  that  will  favor  the  rebellion  ;  that 
are  still  hoping  for  something  in  the  dim  fu- 
ture, and  that  amid  the  throes  of  rebellion, 
anarchy,  and  civil  war,  something  may  turn 
up  for  the  people  of  the  rebellious  counties  in 
this  State.  Sir,  these  men  are  running  loose 
through  the  State.  Armies  have  done  what 
they  could  to  restore  the  State  to  peace,  pros- 
perity, and  happiness,  and  it  must  hereafter  be 
left  to  the  civil  authorities  to  remedy  the  dis- 
orders of  the  body  politic.  Sir,  we  must  have 
a  civil  victory,  because  peace  has  its  victories 
no  less  than  war.  t  tell  you,  Mr.  President, 
there  must  be  a  civil  victory  in  this  State  to 
reap  and  secure  the  rewards  of  the  military 
victory  which  has  been  achieved  over  rebel- 
lion, anarchy,  and  discord.  Then,  sir,  stand- 
ing upon  the  principle  announced  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  Clay,  that  the  restoration  of  law 
is  the  suppression  of  rebellion,  the  sooner  the 
machinery  of  Government  is  put  in  force  the 
better  it  will  be;  but  there  will  be  no  end  to 
this  rebellion  until  the  civil  authorities  resume 
their  wonted  sway  and  importance  in  the  State. 
Another  thing,  sir.  As  it  stands  at  present, 
there  are  those  in  every  township  and  neigh- 
borhood throughout  the  State  who  claim  that 
they  are  Unionists,  in  favor  of  the  Union  ;  that 
they  are  desirous  of  peace  and  anxious  to  see 
the  troubles  of  war  ended  ;  but,  sir,  if  a  mili- 
tary force  was  to  come  within  their  midst  and 
proffer  to  them  protection  from  the  Federal 
forces,  they  would  immediately,  as  in  times 
past,  propose  to  engage  again  in  the  rebellion. 
But,  sir,  if  we  have  an  election  and  make  issue 
with  these  men,  we  can  firmly  re-establish  the 
peace  of  the  State.  But  again,  Mr.  President, 
the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Clay, 
without  merit  as  it  is,  ought  to  be  defeated 
almost  without  argument;  because,  sir,  it  is 


198 


clear  beyond  all  contradiction,  that  that  amend- 
ment is  wrong,  whether  the  original  proposi- 
tion is  right  or  not.     It  has  been  argued  hete, 
sir,  that  the  Convention   heretofore  provided 
an  election   for  Governor,  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor,    and    Secretary    of   State,   and  the   pro- 
position now   is    to   postpone    that   election. 
Admit   that    is    the    truth ,    does    it     at    all 
sustain  the  position  of  the  amendment  of  the 
gentleman  from  Clay  ?     Not  at  all,  sir.     The 
people  of  this  State,  under  constitutional  laws, 
have  no  right  at  this  time  to  elect  the  Gover- 
nor,  Lieutenant-Governor,   and    Secretary  of 
State;  but  under  the  constitutional  laws  of  the 
State,  they  have  a  right  to  elect  a  Legislature 
and  all  other  officers  to  be  elected  at  a  general 
election.     Now,  sir,  the  amendment  of  the  gen- 
tleman from  Clay,  not  only  goes  to  the  extent 
of  postponing  the  election,  first,  for  Governor, 
Lieutenant-Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State, 
but  goes  to  the  extent  of  suspending  all  the 
election  laws  of  the  State  at  one  fell  swoop. 
Is  the  Convention  prepared  to  do  it?     Are  you 
prepared  to  do  this,  when,  in  order  to  secure 
the  peace  of  the  State,  it  is  necessary  to  achieve 
a  victory  at  the  polls,  and  when  that  victory 
is  within  the  grasp  of  loyal  men  ?  The  amend 
ment  of  the   gentleman  from    Clay  seeks  to 
avoid  responsibility  and  place  it  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  State.     I  am  not  afraid,  sir, 
that  the  present  Executive  would  not  properly 
discharge  the  responsibility,  but  I  would  not 
yield  to   such  a  precedent.     I  would  not  let 
posterity  have  it  to  say  that  our  forefathers 
yielded  so  important  a  principle  as  this  and 
dared  not  face  the  responsibility  that  restec 
upon  them.     How  easy  it  is  to  place  upon  th 
backs  of  others  what  we  have  not  the  courage 
to  do  ourselves.     Cannot  the  Convention  say 
whether  they  will  or  will  not  have  an  election 
without  throwing  it  upon  the  Executive  and 
without  yielding  this  principle  of  the  right  oJ 
the  people  to  elect  their  own  Representative 
under  the  constitutional  laws  of  the  State? 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  Let  me  ask  the  gentleman 
if  he  would  not  act  cowardly  in  shifting  the 
responsibility  of  managing  the  affairs  of  thii 
State  from  this  Convention  to  the  Legislatun 
that  you  want  to  call  here.  Talk  about  coward 
and  we  will  see. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  No,  sir.  This  Convention 
was  not  elected  for  legislative  purposes. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  Has  it  not  assumed  legis 
lative  powers  and  done  a  great  deal  a  Legisla 
ture  would  not  do  and  could  not  do? 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.    I  answer,  the  Conventioi 


as  not  assumed  any  other  legislative  action 
lan  was  absolutely  necessary  and  imperative 
nder  the  circumstances. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  That  is  all  I  want  them  to 
o  now. 

Mr.    MCFERRAN.     This   Convention    never 

vas  elected  for  legislative  purposes  ;  and  if  the 

lection  is  to  be  postponed,  let  the  Convention 

ssume  the  responsibility  of  postponing  it;  if  it 

s  to  go  on,  let  them  assume  that  responsibility. 

f  I  understood  the  speech  of  the  gentleman 

rom  Clay,  the  other  day,  I  understood  him  to 

make  the  argument  that  when  the  Legislature 

assembled,   the  existence   of  this  Convention 

would  be  terminated. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.     Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  The  Convention  can  reg- 
ulate its  own  adjournment. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  Just  so ;  and  if  the  gentle- 
man from  Daviess  wills  it,  I  have  no  doubt  this 
obsequious  Convention  will  obey  to  suit  him. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  Mr.  President,  this  Con- 
vention has  a  will  of  its  own 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.     And  a  way  of  its  own. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  Whether  this  Convention 
s  obsequious  or  not,  it  will  be  for  the  Conven- 
tion to  determine.  I,  Mr.  President,  have 
discharged  my  duties  as  faithfully  as  I  could, 
and  in  as  fair  a  spirit,  but  I  do  not  charge— no 
matter  what  the  Convention  may  do — I  do  not 
charge  that  it  is  done  from  any  improper 
motives  or  spirit.  Another  thing  :  It  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  as  argued  by  the  gentleman 
from  Cooper,  that  we  should  have  a  Legisla- 
ture. It  has  been  argued  that  the  laws  oC  the 
State  are  all-sufficient.  Mr.  President,  there 
never  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  State 
when  more  legislation  was  called  for  than  at 
the  present  time.  The  legislation  pressing  on 
the  Convention  now  shows  its  absolute  neces- 
sity. Why,  sir,  there  are  a  great  many  claims 
against  the  State  that  are  pressing  at  the  door 
and  asking  that  they  may  be  recognized — claims 
of  parties  who  have  sold  their  property  to  the 
State  for  military  purposes.  There  is  no  legis- 
lation upon  the  statute  book  that  will  meet  these 
cases,  and  none  that  would  relieve  sheriffs.  Is 
the  Convention  going  to  engage  in  special 
legislation,  such  as  the  Legislature  of  this  State 
will  be  called  upon  to  do  if  one  is  elected? 
Mr.  President,  I  have  detained  the  Convention 
as  long  as  I  desire. 

Mr.  PIPKIN.  I  intended,  Mr.  President,  not 
to  trouble  the  Convention  with  any  further 
remarks,  after  what  I  said  a  day  or  two  ago, 
but  it  seems  I  have  been  on  some  occasions 


199 


referred  to  by  gentlemen  who  have  discussed 
this  matter  before  the  Convention.  I  desire 
to  be  understood ;  and  if  my  remarks,  as  I 
uttered  them  a  few  daya  ago,  are  reported  cor- 
rectly, I  think  I  will  be  understood. 

But  I  have  been  accused  of  having  changed 
my  views  with  regard  to  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment— that  I  was  opposed  to  deposing 
Claib.  Jackson  and  inaugurating  a  Provisional 
Government.  I  want  it  distinctly  understood 
that  I  have  never  yet  fallen  in  love  with  the 
Provisional  Government — not  that  I  have  any 
objection  to  the  honorable  gentlemen  who  form 
that  Government,  because  I  take  it  the  State 
could  not  have  made  a  better  selection  than 
that  made  by  this  Convention  ;  but  I  objected 
to  it  because  it  was  taking  from  the  people  a 
power  which  this  Convention,  as  I  conceived 
and  then  said,  had  not  the  right  to  do.  I  wish 
to  be  understood  as  saying  that  I  have  the  ut- 
most confidence  in  the  Governor  and  all  those 
who  have  been  appointed  by  this  Convention. 
The  people  chose  one  of  two  evils,  and  are  dis- 
posed at  the  present  time  to  put  up  with  the 
Provisional  Government  until  such  period  of 
time  as  they  can  meet  at  the  polls  and  elect  for 
themselves.  The  reason  I  am  opposed  to 
bringing  on  the  election,  and  in  favor  of  allow- 
ing the  present  Government  to  remain,  is  that 
the  whole  State  is  not  in  a  condition  to  meet  at 
the  polls  and  give  a  calm  and  dispassionate 
judgment  on  a  matter  of  this  importance.  This 
is  what  I  said  the  other  day,  and  I  now  reiterate 
it.  I  said  then,  as  I  do  here  to-day,  that  I  was 
opposed  to  bringing  on  the  election  at  an  early 
period.  I  was  in  favor  of  postponing  the  elec- 
tion in  October  last  from  November  to  August 
next  5  and  now  the  question  is,  shall  we  post- 
pone that  election  which  is  to  come  in  August 
next  to  another  period  ?  I  am  called  upon  to 
give  my  judgment  on  that,  and  I  give  it  honestly 
and  in  all  candor,  as  I  did  before,  that  this  is 
no  time  to  bring  on  any  election  in  Missouri. 
Why?  Because,  as  I  have  said,  restrictions 
have  been  thrown  around  the  elective  franchise, 
and  the  people  have  only  about  six  weeks  to 
digest  this  important  action,  and  in  many  por- 
tions of  the  State  this  action  would  not  reach 
them,  and  they  will  not  be  prepared  to  vote  at 
at  so  early  a  period  after  the  adjournment  of 
this  body. 

Mr.  President,  what  we  do  now  will  not  be 
made  public  in  a  large  portion  of  the  State  of 
Missouri.  I  do  not  know  how  it  is  in  other 
portions  of  the  State,  but  I  take  it  for  granted 
that  the  condition  of  affairs  in  other  portions 


of  the  State  is  but  little  better  than  in  my  own, 
for  there  are  numbers  here  who  have  been 
compelled  to  abandon  their  homes  for  monlhs 
past,  and  who  have  not  been  home  since  the 
session  of  this  body  in  July  last.  Then  I  take 
it  that  in  other  portions  of  the  State  the  same 
difficulty  exists  that  exists  in  my  own  portion 
of  the  State.  I  am  compelled,  under  the  exist- 
ing circumstances,  to  act  according  to  the  best 
of  my  judgment,  without  consulting  the  will  of 
my  people.  I  may  never  know  what  tho  will 
of  my  people  is.  I  cannot  visit  them  at  their 
places  of  abode,  nor  can  they  communicate 
with  me,  so  I  am  unable  to  know  what  their 
desire  is.  I  am  opposed  as  much  as  any  man 
to  taking  from  the  people  that  which  properly 
belongs  to  them.  I  am  willing  to  submit  to 
them  the  election  and  choice  of  all  officers 
which,  by  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the 
State,  should  be  submitted  to  them,  but  I  am 
opposed  to  having  an  election  submitted  to  the 
whole  people  of  the  State  when  one  portion  of 
the  people  are  bound  hand  and  foot  by  military 
organizations.  No  election  could  be  held  in 
many  places.  There  are  no  officers  to  issue  the 
poll  books  or  distribute  them,  and  under  these 
circumstances  my  people  could  not  blame  me 
for  withholding  from  them  the  elective  fran- 
chise, when,  if  it  were  bestowed  on  them,  they 
could  not  go  to  the  polls  and  cast  their  votes 
understandingly,  as  we  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  doing.  I  reiterate  again,  sir,  that  the  people 
of  the  State  have  become  satisfied  that  the 
Government  of  the  State  is  in  good  hands  ;  and, 
while  they  may  not  be  satisfied  wilh  the  manner 
in  which  the  officers  of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment have  been  put  in,  they  are  willing  to 
submit  to  the  party  in  power  and  acquiesce  as 
good  citizens,  until  such  time  as  they  can  have 
a  free,  equal,  and  unbiased  election. 

With  these  remarks,  sir,  explanatory  of  my 
position  here,  and  for  the  purpose  of  not  being 
misrepresented  as  giving  my  adhesion  to  the 
Provisional  Government,  I  will  conclude.  I 
am  not  at  all  inconsistent.  I  cast  my  vote  now 
as  I  have  always  cast  it,  and  it  is  my  judgment 
it  is  inexpedient  to  bring  on  an  election  at  the- 
present  time. 

Mr.  STEWART.  I  think  the  whole  object  of 
this  Convention  was  closed  the  moment  we 
threw  restrictions  around  the  voters,  com- 
pelling them  to  take  the  oath  and  making  them 
subject  to  the  penalties  of  perjury.  Now,  it  is 
said,  "  elect  a  Legislature,  but  let  the  Governor, 
Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Secretary  of  State 
remain  in."  I  would  like  to  know  what  good 


200 


reason  there  is  for  such  a  course.  The  people 
expect  that  if  we  do  anything  we  will  call  an 
election  arid  elect  the  whole  thing;  and  if  we 
fail  to  do  this,  we  violate  the  first  principles  of 
civil  liberty.  When  the  proposition  comes  up 
I  shall  vote  against  the  amendment  of  the  gen- 
tleman from  Clay,  and  then  vote  for  electing  a 
Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Secretary 
of  Slat*,  as  well  as  a  Legislature.  And  I  shall 
do  this  because  I  believe  it  is  right,  because  I 
believe  the  interests  of  the  State  require  it,  and 
because  I  believe  if  we  do  not  do  it.  we  will 
never  bring  about  a  state  of  peace  and  harmony. 
If  these  vile  traitors  should  come  back  from 
Price's  army,  we  shall  be  prepared  to  meet 
them  at  the  polls.  We  have  thrown  proper 
restrictions  around  them,  and  are  as  well  pre- 
pared to  elect  all  Ihe  State  officers  as  we  are  to 
simply  elect  a  Legislature, 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on 
agreeing  to  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  Clay. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  demanded.  The 
vote  was  taken  and  resulted  :  Yeas  29,  nays  40. 

So  the  amendment  was  lost. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on 
the  passage  of  the  ordinance. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  demanded.  The 
vote  was  taken,  and  resulted  ayes  31,  noes  35. 

So  the  ordinance  was  lost. 

Mr.  DUNN,  (in  explanation  of  his  vote).  Mr. 
Piesident,  I  arise  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the 
reasons  which  influence  me  in  giving  the  vote 
that  I  am  about  to  give  against  the  ordinance 
postponing  the  election  of  Governor,  Lieuten- 
ant Governor  and  Secretary  of  State.  I  am  one 
of  the  members  of  the  Convention  that  opposed 
the  establi.-hment  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, but  after  the  Convention  resolved  to  es- 
tablish the  Provisional  Government,  I  voted 
for  all  three  of  the  gentlemen  who  till  those 
offices.  I  believed  Governor  Gamble  to  be 
honest,  able  and  patriotic,  and  I  cheerfully 
voted  for  him  for  Provisional  Governor.  Be- 
lieving the  same  in  regard  to  the  other  two  of- 
ficers, I  also  voted  for  them.  And  I  have  no 
reason  to  regret  having  voted  for  them.  They 
have  fully  met  my  expectations,  by  the  able 
manner  in  which  they  have  discharged  their 
official  duties.  They  are  all  old  friends  of 
mine.  Governor  Gamble  presided  with  distin- 
guished ability  as  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
the  other  two  gentlemen  (Mr.  Hall  and  Mr. 
Oliver)  successively  represented  the  distiictin 
which  I  reside  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  and  I  often  travelled  around  the  Fifth 


Judicial  Circuit  with  the  latter  gentle-man, — he 
as  Circuit  Attorney,  and  myself  as  Judge — 
and  he  was  for  many  years  a  near  neighbor  of 
mine.  Cherishing,  as  I  do,  a  high  regard  for 
all  three  of  these  gentlemen,  I  do  not  oppose 
the  postponement  on  account  of  any — the 
slightest— objection  to  either.  I  am  opposed 
to  the  postponement  of  any  of  the  elections, 
except  the  Congressional  election.  At  present, 
we  elect  our  representatives  in  Congress  eigh- 
een  months  before  they  take  their  seats,  and 
hat  election  might  properly  be  postponed,  as 
recommended  by  the  Governor,  for  the  reason 
mentioned  by  him — that  they  may  come  fresh 
from  the  people.  And  yet,  no  member  has 
proposed  any  postponement  of  that  election.  I 
voted  for  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from 
Clay  (Mr.  Moss)  for  the  purpose  of  placing 
the  election  of  a  Legislature  upon  the  same 
footing  as  the  election  of  the  State  officers,  for 
the  reason  given  by  my  colleague  from  Clin- 
ton, (Mr.  Birch,)  to  perfect  the  ordinance,  in- 
tending to  vote  against  the  whole  ordinance, 
being  opposed  to  postponing  any  of  the  elec- 
tions except  the  election  of  Representatives  in 
Congress.  I  know  that  the  people  of  the  dis- 
trict which  I  have  the  honor,  in  part,  to  repre- 
sent are  in  a  condition  to  hove  a  fair  and  free 
election,  and  I  believe  that  the  people  of  the 
greater  portion  of  the  State  are  also ;  and  be- 
lieving that  the  election  should  be  held,  I  will 
vote  against  the  postponement. 

Mr.  PIPKIN,  (in  explanation).  Inasmuch  as 
the  Convention  has  decided  to  bring  on  the  elec- 
tion of  Representatives,  I  think  the  people  are 
as  competent  to  elect  a  Governor,  and  I  shall, 
therefore,  vote  against  a  postponement. 

SOLDIERS    TO    VOTE. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MCFERRAN,  the  bill  to  en- 
able citizens  of  Missouri  now  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States,  or  the  State  of  Missouri,  to 
vote,  was  taken  up  and  read  as  follows  : 

AN    ORDINANCE    TO    ENABLE  CITIZENS  OP 
THIS  STATE,  IN  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE 
OF  THE  UNITED   STATES,  OR  THE  STATE 
OF  MISSOURI,  TO  VOTE. 
Be  it  ordained  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri in  Convention  assembled,  as  follows  : 
SECTION  1.  That  the  commander  of  any  com- 
pany of  Missouri  Volunteers  of  Militia  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  State  of 
Missouri,  who,  or  any  members  thereof,  are 
qualified  voters  under  the  laws  of  this  State, 
shall,  on  the  first  Monday  in  August  next,  and 
at  every  subsequent  election  held  under  the 


201 


laws  of  this  State  during  the  present  war,  cause 
an  election  to  be  held  by  the  members  of  such 
company  for  officers  to  be  elected  at  such  elec- 
tion. 

SEC.  2.  The  commanders  of  such  companies 
shall  cause  a  sufficient  number  of  poll  books  to 
be  made  out  for  each  company,  properly  laid 
off  into  blanks,  with  the  necessary  heading, 
and  certificates  attached,  and  cause  them  to  be 
delivered  to  the  judges  of  election,  on  or  be- 
fore the  day  of  such  election. 

SEC.  3.  Three  good  discreet  and  disinterested 
persons,  members  of  such  company,  being  qual- 
ified voters  under  the  laws  of  this  State,  shall 
be  appointed  judges  of  such  elections  by  such 
company  commanders,  who  shall  administer 
the  following  oath  to  such  judges  before  they 
enter  on  their  duties:  "  I  do  solemnly  swear 
(or  affirm)  that  I  will  impartially  discharge 
the  duties  of  judge  of  the  present  election  ac- 
cording to  law,  and  the  best  of  my  abilities. 
So  help  me  God." 

SEC.  4.  Said  judges  shall  appoint  two  clerks 
who,  before  entering  on  the  duties  of  their  ap- 
pointment, shall  take  an  oath  or  affirmation,  to 
be  administered  by  one  of  the  persons  so  ap- 
pointed as  judges  of  the  election,  that  they  will 
faithfully  record  the  names  of  all  the  voters, 
and  distinctly  carry  out  in  lines  and  columns  the 
name  of  the  person  for  whom  each  voter  votes. 

SEC.  5.  At  the  close  of  each  election  the 
judges  shall  certify,  under  their  hands,  the 
number  of  votes  given  for  each  candidate, 
which  shall  be  attested  by  their  clerks,  and 
transmit  the  same,  together  with  one  of  the 
poll  books,  by  one  of  their  clerks,  or  by  mail, 
to  the  Clerk  of  the  County  Court  in  which  the 
voters  are  entitled  to  vote,  without  delay. 

SEC.  6.  Poll  books  shall  be  opened  for  as 
many  counties  as  there  are  members  in  such 
company  entitled  to  vote  in  such  counties;  and 
at  such  election  only  such  persons  shall  be  al- 
lowed to  vote  as  could  vote  under  existing  laws 
if  in  their  proper  precincts,  which  vote  shall  be 
taken  and  sent  to  the  proper  county  as  provi- 
ded in  this  ordinance. 

SEC.  7.  When  more  than  one  company  votes 
at  the  same  post  or  station,  or  belonging  to  the  i 
same  battalion,  regiment  or  division  of  the  ar- 
my, the  judges  of  said  election  may  cause  one 
messenger  to  carry  the  poll  books  to  the  dif- 
ferent counties. 

SEC.  8.  Any  one  of  the  judges  of  election, 
under  this  ordinance,  are  authorized  to  admin- 
ister oaths  to  test  the  qualifications  of  voters 
and  to  prevent  frauds. 


SEC.  9.  Each  Clerk  of  the  County  Court  shall, 
in  not  less  than  fifteen  nor  more  than  twenty 
days  after  the  election,  take  to  his  assistance 
two  Justices  of  the  Peace,  of  his  county,  or 
two  Justices  of  the  County  Court,  and  examine 
and  cast  up  the  votes  given  for  each  candidate, 
including  the  votes  received  by  virtue  of  this 
ordinance,  and  give  to  those  having  the  highest 
number  of  votes  a  certificate  of  election. 

SEC.  10.  The  votes  given  at  such  company 
election  shall  be  given  by  vivavoce,  or  by  tick- 
ets handed  to  the  judges,  and  shall  in  both  ca- 
ses be  cried  in  an  audible  voice  by  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  election,  or  by  some  person  ap- 
pointed by  such  judges  for  that  purpose,  and 
noted  by  the  cleiks  in  the  presence  and  hear- 
ing of  the  voters. 

SEC.  11.  Judges  and  clerks  of  said  compa- 
ny elections  failing  or  neglecting  to  discharge 
any  duty  required  by  this  ordinance,  or  the 
laws  now  in  force,  shall  be  subject  to  the  pen- 
alties prescribed  by  law,  and  may  be  prosecu- 
ted in  the  county  to  which  such  returns  are  re- 
quired to  be  made. 

SEC.  12.  Every  person,  not  being  a  qualified 
voter  according  to  the  Constitution  and  Jaws 
of  the  State,  who  shall  vote  at  any  election, 
under  this  ordinance,  knowing  that  he  is  not 
entitled  to  vote ;  or,  any  person  who  shall,  at 
the  same  election,  vote  more  than  once,  either 
at  the  same  or  different  places  of  voting,  shall, 
upon  conviction,  be  adjudged  guilty  of  a  mis- 
demeanor, and  be  punished  by  fine,  not  exceed- 
ing fifty  dollars,  nor  less  than  twenty  dollars, 
or  by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not  ex- 
ceeding three  months,  arid  shall  be  liable  to  in- 
dictment and  conviction  in  any  county  to  which 
such  votes,  or  either  of  them,  shall  be  returned. 

SEC.  13.  Persons  voting  under  this  ordinance 
shall  not  be  required  to  take  the  oath  required 
to  be  taken  by  any  ordinance  of  this  Conven- 
tion, testing  the  loyalty  of  the  voter. 

SEC.  14.  The  election  returns  of  votes  cast 
at  the  different  precincts  in  the  counties  shall 
be  made  to  County  Clerks,  in  all  respects,  ac- 
cording to  the  statute  laws  now  in  force,  and 
all  acts  required  to  be  done  under  existing  laws 
within  a  given  time  after  examining  and  cast- 
ing up  the  books,  shall  be  done  within  the  time 
required  by  existing  laws,  after  the  time  fixed 
for  examining  and  casting  up  the  poll  books, 
under  the  ninth  section  of  this  ordinance. 

SEC.  15.  This  ordinance  shall  be  in  force 
from  and  after  its  passage,  and  is  subject  to  re- 
peal at  any  time  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
this  State. 


202 


Mr.  SMITH  of  Linn  offered  the  following 
amendment :  "  Provided  such  volunteer  militia 
are  within  the  State  of  Missouri." 

The  amendment  was  disagreed  to. 

Mr.  ORR.  I  will  not  inflict  any  speech  on 
this  Convention,  but  with  a  view  of  explaining 
the  vote  I  shall  give,  I  wish  to  make  a  remark. 
It  is  useless  for  a  conservative  man  to  oppose 
anything  in  this  Convention.  It  is  throwing 
words  away.  I  have  endeavored  to  keep  this 
Convention  from  drifting  into  radical  measures, 
but  I  have  failed  in  every  instance.  Now 
talk  about  men  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  voting,  who  maybe  in  New  Orleans! 
Why,  sir,  let  me  refer  to  a  solitary  instance 
that  happened  in  Tennessee.  The  vote  on  the 
secession  ordinance  was  referred  to  the  people 
of  Tennessee  (in  a  horn),  and  at  a  certain  pre- 
cinct they  sent  up  seven  hundred  votes  for  se- 
cession from  a  regiment,  when  there  were  but 
seven  votes  polled.  Now,  sir,  is  it  possible 
that  while  we  are  here  trying  to  guard  the 
ballot-box,  we  are  at  the  same  time  going  to 
cut  loose  from  every  safe  precedent?  I  shall 
vote  against  the  whole  proposition,  let  men 
impugn  my  motives  as  they  may. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  have  given  this  matter 
a  great  deal  of  consideration.  As  a  member 
of  the  Committee  on  Elections,  of  course  it 
came  immediately  under  my  notice.  I  have 
inquired  very  carefully  and  anxiously  of  gen- 
tlemen in  this  Convention  and  elsewhere,  as 
well  as  of  officers  in  the  army  whom  I  thought 
more  capable  of  forming  a  correct  judgment 
than  I  was  myself  in  reference  to  this  matter. 
It  is  to  be  desired  that  these  brave  men  who 
are  perilling  their  lives  for  us  and  for  our 
country  should  vote.  I  trust  I  desire  this  as 
fully  as  any  member  of  this  Convention.  But 
it  is  one  thing  to  desire  that  a  thing  should  be 
done,  and  it  is  quite  another  thing  to  demon- 
strate that  it  can  be  practically  and  properly 
done.  I  will  not  detain  the  Convention  by 
going  over  the  difficulties  which  lie  in  the  way 
of  this  ordinance  as  it  is  now.  I  do  not  think 
it  necessary  to  assume  at  all,  as  implied  by  the 
remarks  of  the  gentleman  from  Greene,  that 
because  such  enormous  and  infamous  frauds 
have  been  committed  in  secession  camps,  there 
is  danger  of  similar  frauds  in  our  camps  ;  but 
when  I  remember  the  fact  that  men  in  the 
military  service  are  away  from  home,  are  to  a 
great  extent  not  fully  conscious  of  what  is 
going  on  there,  as  to  who  are  the  candidates 
or  what  are  the  local  issues — when  I  remember 
also  the  influences  that  are  likely  to  be  brought 


to  bear  upon  our  soldiers  when  they  are  hun- 
dreds of  miles  away  from  home,  I  feel  that  we 
are  stepping  aside  from  all  precedents  and 
doing  that  which  never  has  been  done  before, 
and  I  cannot  think  it  is  wise  or  for  the  true 
interests  of  the  State  that  this  action  should  be 
taken.  I  have  not  been  convinced  that  it  is 
right,  or  that  it  can  be  done.  I  desire  very 
much  that  the  votes  of  those  who  sympathize 
with  me  in  behalf  of  the  Union  should  be  cast. 
I  need  not  say  that  I  should  expect,  as  far  as 
the  Union  question  was  concerned,  every  vote 
would  be  cast  as  I  desired.  But  the  principle 
is  bad,  and  I  never  saw  a  bad  principle  which 
if  followed  did  not  lead  to  a  bad  result.  I  can- 
not adopt  a  bad  principle,  even  though  promis- 
ing inducements  are  held  out.  Believing  the 
proposition  wholly  impracticable  as  it  stands,  I 
shall  be  compelled  to  vote  against  it.  I  was, 
however,  in  favor  of  the  amendment  allowing 
soldiers  to  vote  only  within  the  State,  but  that 
has  been  voted  down,  and  I  think  the  proposi- 
tion now  has  no  merit  whatever. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  Mr.  President,  I  conceive 
that  this  proposition  is  nothing  but  a  simple 
act  of  justice  to  our  brave  soldiers.  It  costs 
the  State  nothing,  and  the  charge  that  it  is  re- 
volutionary has  no  foundation,  because  Penn- 
sylvania and  other  States  have  provided  that 
soldiers  not  in  the  limits  of  the  State  shall  be 
entitled  to  the  right  of  suffrage.  These  men 
are  interested  in  our  elections.  They  are  men 
who  have  recently  gone  from  their  homes,  and 
they  are  men  who  ought,  from  the  very  nature 
of  the  case,  to  have  a  voice  in  declaring  who 
shall  represent  their  interests  in  the  Legisla- 
ture and  elsewhere.  We  ought  not  to  prohibit 
them  from  the  right  of  suffrage  simply  because 
their  duties  as  soldiers  have  taken  them  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  State. 

Mr.  JACKSON.  A  short  time  since  my  fel- 
low soldiers  and  myself  were  called  from  the 
north  part  of  the  State  to  the  south-west.  Our 
regiment  is  made  up  of  citizens  of  North  Mis- 
souri, of  men  who  have  left  the  pleasures  and 
comforts  of  a  home  and  gone  forth  to  defend 
their  country.  Our  interests  are  all  in  North 
Missouri,  and  it  would  seem  no  more  than  just 
that  we  should  be  allowed  to  vote.  I  do  hope 
that  the  members  of  this  honorable  body  will 
be  willing  to  extend  to  us  the  privilege  of  the 
elective  franchise.  I  think  it  would  be  unjust 
to  deprive  us  of  the  right  to  vote.  All  our  in- 
terests are  identified  with  the  State,  and  we 
have  gone  forth  in  good  faith  to  help  defend 
our  country.  This  proposition,  it  seems  to 


203 


me,  would  do  us  great  injustice.  I,  therefore, 
hope  the  liberal  sentiments  of  this  body  will 
be  exercised  so  as  to  extend  to  us  the  right  of 
suffrage. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  wish  to  make  a  sin- 
gle suggestion.  I  have  been  so  much  engrossed 
with  other  matters  of  interest,  that  really  I 
have  not  given  the  ordinance  under  consider- 
ation sufficient  attention  to  enable  me  to  vote 
understandingly.  In  order  that  we  may  fully 
understand  the  bill,  I  move  that  it  be  postpon- 
ed until  to-morrow  morning. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  move  are-consideration 
of  the  vote  on  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman 
from  Linn. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to  and  the  bill  was 
then  postponed. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

The  ordinance  in  relation  to  the  Register  of 
Lands  was  taken  up. 

Mr.  POMEROY  moved  to  lay  it  on  the  table, 
but  withdrew  the  motion  to  allow  Mr.  Orr  to 
explain  the  object  of  t^e  bill. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis,  the 
bill  was  postponed  until  to-morrow. 

Mr.  ALLEN  offered  a  resolution  that  the 
Convention  adjourn  on  Saturday. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  suggest  that  the  re- 
solution is  premaure. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  It  amounts  to  this — that 
if  we  want  to  adjourn  on  Saturday  we  will,  and 
if  we  don't  we  won't. 

Mr.  VANBUSKIRK  offered  the  following  : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  will  adjourn 
when  it  gets  through  its  business. 

The  VICE-PBESIDENT  declared  it  out  of 
order. 


On  motion  of  Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis,  the 
resolution  was  laid  on  the  table. 

Mr.  IRWIN  introduced  an  amendment  to  the 
State  Constitution  as  follows  :  First,  the  eighth 
section  of  the  third  article  of  the  Constitution 
is  hereby  abolished  and  the  following  adopted 
in  lieu  thereof.  "After  the  first  day  of  Septem- 
ber, 1862,  the  general  election  shall  commence 
on  the  third  Monday  in  October,  and  shall  be 
held  biennially." 

Mr.  IRWIN.  The  general  election  now  takes 
place  in  August,  at  a  time  when  it  is  not  con- 
venient for  all  classes  of  society  to  go  to  the 
poils.  It  would  suit  them  much  better  in  this 
respect  if  the  election  were  held  in  October. 
Another  objection  to  the  present  time  of  elec- 
tion is,  that  the  month  of  July  is  taken  up  by 
candidates  in  canvassing  for  different  offices. 
I  have  the  interests  of  the  candidates  at  heart, 
and,  although  I  never  expect  to  canvass  for 
any  political  office,  I  take  some  interest  in 
their  welfare.  I  know  it  is  exceedingly  un- 
pleasant for  candidates  to  have  to  canvass 
during  the  excessively  hot  weather,  and  as  I 
have  remarked,  the  farming  community  are 
very  much  engaged  at  that  season  of  the  year, 
and  they  cannot  spare  time  to  hear  the  various 
matters  which  are  discussed  in  the  canvass^ 
Now,  sir,  as  the  law  stands  the  election  takes 
place  five  or  six  months  before  the  Legisla- 
ture meets,  and  issues  often  arise  in  the  mean- 
time that  were  not  discussed  in  the  canvass. 
By  the  amendment  which  I  propose,  the  elec- 
tion would  transpire  but  two  months  before  the 
meeting  of  the  Legislature. 

The  bill  was  referred  to  a  select  committee, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Irwin,  Douglass  and 
Dunn,  and  the  Convention  then  adjourned. 


TENTH   DAT. 


JEFFERSON  CITY,  Mo., 
Thursday,  June  12,  1862. 

Met  at  9  o'clock. 

Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 

Mr.  ROWLAND.  I  find  several  members  are 
anxious  for  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote  on  the 
bill  to  continue  the  present  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment in  office.  I  think  myself  there  are 


some  of  the  best  reasons  in  the  world  for 
continuing  the  present  Government  in  office, 
and  I  therefore  move  to  reconsider  the  vote. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  expect  to  vote,  as  far  as  I 
am  individually  concerned,  for  the  proposition 
to  reconsider  the  vote.  I  desire,  however,  to 
ask  the  gentleman  a  question  :  whether,  in  case 
the  motion  is  carried,  he  is  prepared  to  move  a 
reconsideration  of  the  vote  that  was  taken  on 


204 


the  report  of  the  minority  of  the  Committee  on 
Elections,  in  order  that  we  may  make  some 
fair  adjustment  of  both  these  propositions  on  a 
basis  that  may  be  satisfactory  to  the  Conven- 
tion and  country. 

Mr.  ROWLAND.  I  can  answer  the  gentleman 
in  this  way.  T  cannot  promise  that  I  will  move 
a  reconsideration.  I  think  there  are  strong 
reasons  why  we  should  retain  the  present 
officers  of  the  Provisional  Government.  I  think 
reasons  exist  in  its  favor  that  do  not  exist  in 
regard  to  other  elections.  I  think  the  State  of 
Missouri  is  in  great  want  of  a  Legislature;  I 
think  it  is  for  the  interest  of  Missouri  that  we 
should  have  a  Legislature  elected.  If  we  fail 
to  elect  such  a  Legislature  as  the  people  desire, 
why,  sir,  by  continuing  the  present  Government 
in  office  we  shall  then  have  a  proper  check 
upon  the  body  politic.  I  think  it  is  necessary 
to  have  many  laws  now  on  the  statute  books, 
and  that  are  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the 
State,  repealed  ;  and  therefore  I  cannot  promise 
that  I  will  vote  to  open  an  election  for  other 
officers  of  the  State. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  1  do  not  desire  to  discuss  the 
proposition  at  all.  I  merely  want  to  institute 
an  inquiry  of  the  gentleman,  and  of  other  gen- 
tlemen who  occupy  the  position  of  that  gentle- 
man, why  they  cast  the  vote  they  did  last 
evening? 

Mr.  SHANKLIN.  The  gentleman  has  pressed 
his  proposition  with  great  pertinacity  for  one 
that  has  no  merit  in  it.  Let  him  bring  it  up 
independently,  and  not  encumber  every  other 
proposition  with  it. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  That  has  been  ray  policy 
during  the  whole  term ;  but,  from  causes  not 
necessary  to  explain,  I  was  to  some  extent 
precluded  from  pursuing  my  own  policy. 

The  ayes  and  noes  were  then  demanded,  and 
the  motion  to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which  the 
ordinance  continuing  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment in  office  was  i  ejected,  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  SHACKELFORD  of  Howard.  It  would 
have  agreed  better  with  my  feelings  to  have 
said  nothing,  but  I  cannot  forbear,  since  the 
Convention  seems  to  require  a  warning  voice 
just  now.  Let  us  stop  one  moment  and  think 
of  the  effect  of  our  vote  upon  the  proposition 
as  it  stands  at  the  present  time.  I  deem  it  my 
duty  to  explain  my  position  on  this  question. 
My  constituents  desire  that  we  shall  have  no 
election  while  bayonets  are  in  the  land;  they 
conceive  it  perfectly  inexpedient  for  the  ballot 
and  the  bayonet  to  mingle  together.  I  voted, 
therefore,  for  the  postponement  of  the  elections. 


It  is  positively  necessary  for  the  peace  and 
quiet  of  the  country  that  they  shall  be  post- 
poned. If  we  have  a  civil  election,  if  any 
vestige  of  liberty  is  left  when  the  storm  has 
subsided,  then  we  must  have  a  free  and  open 
election,  and  the  people  must  have  the  right  to 
choose  their  officers  from  Governor  down. 
Gentlemen  may  cry  peace  when  the  bayonets 
are  in  the  hands  of  the  military,  when  there  is 
no  peace.  Then,  sir,  why  shall  we  send  forth 
to  the  people  this  proposition,  that  the  Con- 
vention believe  they  are  capable  of  choosing  a 
Legislature,  but  have  not  capacity  to  choose  a 
Governor  and  other  officers  ? 

Now,  sir,  I  believe  that  the  military  in  its 
proper  place  is  a  necessity,  and  I  adopt  it  as  a 
necessity  upon  the  same  principle  that  I  would 
administer  a  dose  of  disagreeable  medicine  to 
heal  a  man  that  was  sick.  When  the  necessity 
ceases,  when  the  time  of  peril  is  past,  then  let 
those  gentlemen  who  have  stepped  forth  to 
defend  their  country  lay  aside  the  sword,  and 
assume  the  duties  of  civil  life  ;  and  then  we  can 
have  an  election  on  the  same  basis  as  hereto- 
fore, and  the  ballot-box  then,  and  then  only, 
will  assume  its  proper  position.  Commingled 
together,  the  sword  and  the  ballot-box  engender 
strife  at  every  election,  and  the  consequence 
will  be  the  sword  will  not  depart  from  this 
land  so  long  as  you  and  I  live,  even  though  we 
live  out  our  allotted  period  of  three  score  years 
and  ten.  Then  the  only  thing  that  will  keep 
peace  in  this  country  is  for  gentlemen  who 
have  hastily  voted  down  the  amendment  offered 
by  the  gentleman  from  Clay  to  move  a  recon- 
sideration of  that  proposition,  and  when  the  mat- 
ter comes  up,  to  postpone  the  whole.  It  can  be 
done,  and  that  only,  in  my  judgment,  will  have 
the  effect  of  producing  peace  and  quiet. 

Mr.  CALHOUN.  I  want  to  make  a  remark 
or  two.  I  suppose  the  Convention  will  see 
that  I  have  never  been  very  noisy  in  it;  but, 
Mr.  President,  one  of  the  strongest  proofs,  to 
my  mind,  that  we  cannot  have  an  election  is 
the  spirit  that  is  manifested  in  this  Convention. 
Mr.  President,  when  we  were  elected  I  thought 
it  was  for  the  purpose  of  cultivating  a  kind 
feeling  towards  each  other,  and  to  take  into 
consideration  the  welfare,  harmony,  and  peace 
of  the  State.  Now,  Mr.  President,  is  this  spirit 
manifested  in  the  Convention  to-day  ?  I  have 
no  desire  to  indulge  in  anything  like  person- 
alities, but  is  it  not  plain  and  manifest  that 
there  is  wire-working  going  on,  and  a  disposi- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Convention  to  get  their 
favorites  into  office?  I  am  always  glad  when 


205 


I  see  a  man  manifesting  a  repentant  spirit,  and 
am  ready  to  forgive  him. 

Circumstances  beyond  my  control  prevented 
me  from  attending  the  meeting  of  this  Conven- 
tion last  year,  but  I  endorsed  Iheir  action  to  a 
great  extent ;  yet  it  seems  the  very  men  in  whom 
we  have  confidence,  the  very  men  of  our  own 
choice,  are  sought  to  be  made  the  victims  of  a 
certain  party  in  this  Convention,  who  desire 
to  cut  their  heads  off.  Now,  these  gentlemen 
set  a  trap  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing 
their  object, hut  unfortunately  they  were  caught 
themselves. 

Will  any  man  say  we  can  have  a  peaceable 
election  in  August  next  ?  Why,  every  man 
know.-*  that  in  the  most  peaceable  times  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  excitement  when  the  election 
comes  round.  Do  you  suppose  it  will  be  less 
so  when  the  people  are  in  a  disturbed  condition  ? 
The  strongest  Union  man  in  my  county  desires 
to  postpone  the  election.  The  people  are  be- 
coming better  satisfied  with  the  Provisional 
Government;  they  say  it  has  worked  better 
than  they  expected  ;  but  if  we  are  to  have  an 
election  it  will  produce  a  fresh  disturbance. 

I  have  been  sorry  to  see  gentlemen  bringing 
up  old  reminiscences,  criminating  and  recrimi- 
nating. It  reminds  me  very  much  of  Sutan 
reproving  sin  ;  and,  without  any  reflection  upon 
these  gentlemen,  it  reminds  me  that  when  rogues 
get  to  quarrelling,  honest  men  get  their  dues. 

Now,  gentlemen,  what  is  ihe  object  of  this 
reconsideration?  Tell  us  what  you  have  in 
view.  I  am  willing  to  postpone  all  elections, 
because  I  believe  it  would  bring  peace  and 
harmony  to  the  State. 

Mr.  President,  I  left  my  native  land  when 
only  a  boy  to  enjoy  the  liberty  of  these  United 
States.  I  had  read  of  the  blessings  mjoyed  by 
the  American  people,  and  of  their  rights  and 
privileges,  of  the  right  to  vote,  the  light  to 
worship  God,  and  all  that,  and  I  came  here  to 
enjoy  these  privileges  ;  but  now,  sir,  what  have 
we  done  ?  Why,  sir,  you  have  disfranchised 
your  native-born  citizens.  I  do  not  think  you 
have  acted  wisely;  I  believe  we  should  recon- 
sider our  action.  There  is  no  man  for  whom 
I  have  a  higher  regard  than  Governor  Gamble. 
He  is  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  And 
now,  gentlemen,  I  hope  you  will  act  cour'eous 
towards  us;  and  as  we  voted  for  your  measure 
over  which  you  felt  sorry,  I  hope  you  will  now 
vote  for  the  substitute  of  my  friend  from 
Monroe.  I  have  no  motive  in  view  but  the 
peace  and  harmony  of  the  State.  I  am  no 
trickster;  and,  gentlemen,  this  great  cause  of 


sustaining  our  Government  is  near  to  my  heart, 
although  I  have  many  friends  in  the  Southern 
army.  I  had  a  much  beloved  nephew  killed  in 
Virginia  while  endeavoring  to  take  Sherman's 
Battery.  But  this  is  all  wrong.  The  abolition- 
ists of  the  North  and  the  secessionists  of  the 
South  brought  our  difficulties  upon  us ;  and, 
gentlemen,  we  want  to  keep  that  Northern  class 
out  of  power  in  Missouri,  and  also  the  extreme 
Southern  class. 

Mr.  ALLEN.  I  think  the  course  pursued  by 
the  gentleman  is  out  of  order.  There  is  but  one 
proposition  before  the  House.  I  hold  that  we 
should  keep  these  things  distinct  in  our  minds. 
We  are  to  decide  a  matter  of  momentous  inter- 
est to  this  State.  Let  us  therefore  decide  one 
thing  at  a  time.  I  do  not  propose  to  argue  the 
question  further.  I  will,  however,  remark 
that  I  do  think  there  are  reasons  of  the  highest 
consideration  that  should  prompt  us  to  retain 
in  office  the  present  State  officer?.  Governor 
Gamble,  it  is  well  known,  entered  into  this 
position  under  embarrassing  circumstances,  and 
it  was  not  until  after  the  utmost  solicitation,  by 
almost  every  member  of  this  body,  that  he  was 
induced,  in  ths  darkest  hour  of  our  State,  to 
accept  that  position.  It  would  not  be  doing 
justice  to  him  now  to  remove  him  from  that  posi- 
tion, or  to  place  upon  him  the  obligation  of  can- 
vassing this  State  for  the  term  of  two  years  only. 
It  would  require  more  of  him  than  we,  as  a 
Convention,  could  reasonably  expect.  As  I 
before  remaiked,  I  think  it  of  the  highest  im- 
portance that  we  should  retain  him  and  other 
officers  in  tht  ir  present  positions.  He  has  been 
tried  in  the  very  darkest  hour  of  our  troubles, 
and  has  sustained  himself  as  an  honorable  and 
high-minded  gentleman,  and  one  who  has  con- 
tributed greatly  to  give  peace  to  the  State.  To 
remove  him  at  this  hour  would  certainly  be 
doing  him  great  injustice. 

Mr.  ROWLAND.  It  ii  very  seldom  that  I  ex- 
plain the  reasons  why  I  cast  a  vote.  I  have 
been  honored  with  a  seat  in  one  or  other  of  the 
branches  of  the  General  Assembly  by  mycon- 
stiiuents  for  the  last  eight  years;  and  I  have 
been  a  member  of  this  Convention  during  its 
sessions,  and  every  gentleman  will  bear  me 
witness  that  I  have  detained  this  body  as  little 
as  any  member  on  this  floor.  This  is  the  first 
time  in  my  life  that  I  have  ever  found  it  neces- 
sary to  chai  ge  a  vole  I  have  given.  I  think, 
therefore,  that  it  will  be  necessary  for  me  to 
give  the  reasons  why  I  shall,  on  the  present  oc- 
casion, give  a  diffeient  vofe  from  what  I  gave 
yesterday.  I  have  no  taste  for  public  speaking, 


206 


and  I  have  not  found  it  necessary  to  make  bun- 
comb  speeches  for  home  consumption.     I  have 
lived  in  my  county  forty  years,  and  a  buncomb 
speech  would  have  but  little  effect  upon  my 
people.     My  own  judgment  has  been  from  the 
beginning   that   the    Provisional    Government 
ought  to  be  continued  until   1864.     That  has 
been  my  conviction,  and  had  I  been  acting  for 
myself,  I  would  have  acted  in  that  way  from 
the  beginning ;  but  being  a  man  that  has  always 
been  anxious  to  give  all  the  power  that  would 
be  safe  to   the  people,  I  thought  it  would  be 
more  satisfactory  for  them  to  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  vote  at  the  present  election  for  Gov- 
ernor and  other  officers,  and  accordingly  I  vo- 
ted against  the  ordinance  to  continue  them  in 
office.     1  must  confess  I  expected  the  question 
would  be  carried  without  my  vote.     I  expected 
that  the  good  sense  of  this  body  would  see  the 
great  necessity  of  keeping  these  gentlemen  in 
office  for  two  years  longer.     But,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, we  lost  the  measure  by  about  four  votes, 
and  I  felt  thunderstruck  when  I  found  I  had 
lost  the  very  point  I  wanted  to  make.     [Laugh- 
ter.]    Now,  sir,  like  a  man,  I  come  up  to  my 
work.     I  am  satisfied  and  know  that  it  is  for 
the  interest  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri that  this  present  government  should  be 
continued  in  office,  and  inasmuch  as  I  believe 
this  to  be  the  case,  I  will  advocate  it,  and  risk 
the  consequences  before  my  constituents,  and 
will  try  and  set  myself  right  there.     This  is  the 
reason  why  I  have  made  a  motion  to  reconsider, 
and  this  is  the  reason  why  I  shall  cast  my  vote 
to  continue  these  men  in  office,  because  I  know 
it  will  promote  the  welfare  and  interest  of  the 
State.     Governor  Gamble  has  been   in   office 
now  for  more  than  twelve  months.     He  took 
his  position  when  the  State  was  in  the  midst  of 
revolution.     He  has  the  confidence  of  the  men 
at  Washington,  and  he  has  made  the  necessary 
arrangements  in  order  to  put  down  this  mosl 
monstrous  rebellion  in  the  State  of  Missouri, 
and  to  a  great  measure  he  has  been  successful, 
Now.  if  we  should  displace  that  gentleman 
and  should  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  elect  a  mar 
who  would  not  have  the  confidence  of  the  Gen- 
eral Government,  what  would  be  our  condition 
in  Missouri?     We  might  be  in  a  worse  rebel- 
lion than  we  were  eight  months  ago.     There- 
fore, for   the  sake  of  peace  and  harmony,  I 
shall  take  the  responsibility  of  changing  my 
vote  to  retain  these  men  in  office. 

Mr.  IRWIN.  I  hope  I  may  be  indulged  in 
saying  a  word.  I  voted,  sir,  to  dispense  with 
all  elections  in  this  State  for  the  time  being, 


jiving  to  the  Governor  the  power,  when  he 
leemed  it  necessary,  to  order  an  election.     I 
have  rny  reasons  for  voting  for  that  proposi- 
ion,  and  I  intended  to  have  made   some  re- 
marks upon  it  when  it  was  pending  before  the 
Convention.     And,  sir,  there  was  great  anxiety 
manifested  on  the  part  of  members  of  the  Con- 
vention to  express  their  views  on  that  proposi- 
tion, and  I  felt,  sir,  as  the  discussion  was  draw- 
ing to  a  close  that  it  would  be  presuming  too 
much  on  the  patience  of  this  body  to  make  any 
remarks  upon  that  subject.     Now,  I  voted  to 
dispense  with  the  holding  of  the  elections  in 
this  State,  because  I  believed  that  the  condition 
of  our  Slate  was  such  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  get  at  a  fair  expression    of  the   loyal 
sentiment  of  the  State.     In  the  south  or  south- 
western portions  of  the   State  a  condition  of 
things   exists   now  that  render  it,  to  say  the 
least,  impracticable,  if  not  impossible,  to  hold 
an  election  in  many  counties  in  that  part  of 
Srate.     From   our  present  stand-point,  it  was 
impossible  for  us  to  look  into  the  future  and  de- 
termine in  our  minds  what  would  be  the  condi- 
tion of  things,  not  only  in  that  section  of  the 
State,  but  throughout  our  whole  State,  upon  the 
first   Monday   in   August.     The   condition   of 
things  there  now  is  bad  enough  j  but,  sir,  our 
ears  were  saluted  with  rumors  and  reports  that 
a  large  armed  force  was  on  their  way,   and 
about  ready  to  invade  the  State  of  Missouri,  so 
that  it  was  truly  impossible,  as  I  have  remark- 
ed, to  determine,  in  our  own  minds,  what  would 
be  the  condition  of  things  on  the  first  Monday  in 
August.     For  that  reason,  I  was  constrained  to 
act  upon  the  substitute  as  I  did.     I  considered 
that  the  postponement  of  all  elections,  and  the 
dispensing  with  them  for  the  time  being,  and 
giving  the  Governor  power  to  order  an  election 
whenever  he  deemed  necessary,  would  be  pro- 
ductive of  the  best  results  ;  and  for  that  reason 
I  was  in  favor  of  dispensing  with  the  election. 
But,  again  :  I  was  also  in  favor  of  dispensing 
with  the  elections  for  the  present  from  the  fact 
that  it  would,  for  the  time  being,  prevent  cer- 
tain issues  of  an  exciting  character  from  being 
brought  before  the  people.     The  public  mind 
is   already   in   a  distracted   condition,   and   I 
I  thought  by   dispensing  with  the  elections  it 
would  keep  from  before  the  people  certain  is- 
sues upon  questions  concerning  which  the  peo- 
ple of  our  State  are  more  sensitive  than  any 
other.     I  thought  it  would  keep  those  questions 
from  before  them  for  a  time,  and  thus  keep 
down  the  excitement.     And,  sir,  I  may  be  in- 
dulged while  I  say  a  word  with  reference  tOf 


20T 


that  issue.  Now,  I  understand,  as  far  as  that 
question  is  concerned,  and  I  believe,  sir,  that 
such  has  been  the  effect  and  result  of  this  se- 
cession movement  in  Missouri,  that  it  has  given 
to  slavery  its  death-blow  ;  and  the  position, 
sir,  which  I  took  before  iny  constituents  when 
I  was  a  candidate  for  a  seat  in  this  Convention 
was  that  the  moment  secession  gained  control 
in  Missouri,  just  that  moment  was  the  death- 
knell  of  slavery  sounded.  I  believed  it  true, 
sir,  but,  at  the  same  time,  I  believe  if  you  let 
that  subject  alone,  the  evil  will  cure  itself.  At 
the  proper  time,  when  this  question  can  be  pre- 
sented to  the  people  of  the  State — when  they 
are  in  a  condition  to  discuss  it,  and  calmly  re- 
flect upon  it, — when  that  time  arrives,  and  that 
issue  is  presented,  if  a  Legislature,  elected  by 
a  majority  of  the  people  of  the  State,  are  then 
in  favor  of  a  system  of  practicable,  equitable 
and  just  emancipation,  I  say  amen.  1  believe 
it  would  have  been  better  for  Missouri,  if  there 
had  never  been  a  slave  in  it.  I  believe,  as 
things  exist  at  present,  that  we  have  the  insti- 
tution here,  with  all  its  disadvantages  and  all 
its  advantages.  But,  sir,  this  was  not  the  time 
to  discuss  that  question,  or  thrust  it  before  the 
people.  That  was  one  of  the  reasons,  sir,  why 
I  voted  as  I  did  to  suspend  all  elections.  And, 
sir,  had  we  had  a  different  man  from  the  one 
\vho  has  charge  of  the  State,  I  should  have 
been  in  favor  of  entrusting  to  him  no  such 
power  as  that  which  we  en>  rusted  to  him  in  my 
amendment.  But,  sir,  I  was  perfectly  willing 
to  trust  it  to  that  man  to  whom  the  State  of 
Missouri,  I  undertake  to  say,  owes  more  than 
to  any  other  living  man  ;  that  man  who,  for 
goodness  of  heart  and  for  honesty  of  purpose, 
has  not  his  superior  in  the  land  ;  that  man,  in 
whose  heart  burns  to-day,  as  they  have  burn- 
ed, the  fires  of  the  puiest  patriotism.  To  him, 
sir,  I  was  willing  to  entrust  that  important 
matter,  believing  that  just  so  soon  as  he  believ- 
ed the  people  of  the  State  were  in  a  condition 
to  vote,  just  so  soon  would  he  order  an  elec- 
tion. A  word  more,  sir,  and  I  am  done.  Al- 
though I  voted  for  that  proposition  for  these 
and  other  reasons,  yet,  sir,  I  was  in  favor,  if  that 
proposition  could  notreceive  the  endorsement  of 
this  Convention,  of  providing  for  the  election 
of  a  Legislature,  and  continuing  the  present 
Provisional  Government  in  office. 

Mr.  COMIKGO.  I  simply  wish  to  state  that 
I  regard  this  as  one  of  the  most  important  pro- 
positions to  which  this  body  has  had  its  atten- 
tion called.  I  believe  our  action  on  the  pro- 
position may  be  fraught  with  more  good  or 


evil — I  am  not  able  to  determine  which — than 
any  other  proposition  that  has  been  under  con- 
sideration, and  in  view  of  its  great  importance 
I  move  to  lay  the  subject  over  until  to-morrow 
morning  at  ten  o'clock. 

The  motion  was  lost. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  1  have  been  charged  by  some 
gentlemen  with  urging  the  postponement  of  all 
elections  with  too  much  pertinacity.  Perhaps, 
sir,  I  may  have  offended  in  that  way.  If  I 
have  done  so,  it  has  been  from  a  conviction  of 
duty,  and  from  no  other  consideration.  The 
proposition  to  postpone  the  elections  for  two 
years  has  been  voted  down.  The  proposition 
to  authorize  the  Governor  to  convene  a  Legis- 
ture  in  that  time  has  also  been  voted  down, 
upon  the  avowed  principle  that  it  will  be 
clothing  the  Governor  with  kingly  or  arbitrary 
power.  Now,  I  still  entertain  the  impression 
that  some  compromise  may  be  arrived  at  by 
this  Convention.  If  it  is  not  inexpedient  to 
postpone  the  election  for  two  years,  and  if  it 
is  not  safe  to  invest  the  Governor  with  power 
to  convene  the  Legislature  during  all  that  time, 
then,  sir,  perhaps  some  compromise  may  be 
agreed  upon  by  this  Convention.  If  it  is  not 
politic  to  postpone  the  election  for  two  years, 
it  might  be  politic  to  postpone  it  for  one  year  ; 
but,  sir,  if  it  should  not  be  expedient  and  pro- 
per to  postpone  it  for  one  year,  it  might  be  pro- 
per to  postpone  it  until  the  leaves  fall,  and  on 
this  great  question  I  propose  this  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  ordinance  be  re-commit- 
ted to  the  Committee  on  Elections,  with  in- 
structions to  report  an  ordinance  for  postpon- 
ing the  elections  to  some  future  time,  when  the 
State  will  be  in  a  better  condition  to  have  an 
election. 

Mr.  SHANKLIN.  I  meant  no  unkindness  to 
the  gentleman  from  Monroe,  in  appealing  to 
his  magnanimity,  not  to  encumber  the  proposi- 
tion with  a  measure  that  he  has  had  constantly 
before  the  house  ever  since  we  have  been  in 
session.  The  objection  I  make  is  that  he  has 
continued  to  encumber  some  other  matter  with 
this  foreign  proposition.  It  seems  he  is  deter- 
mined to  ride  down  the  proposition  before  the 
house  if  he  can. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  Not  at  all.  I  have  been  ad- 
vocating the  measure  now  before  the  house,  it 
is  true  ;  but  if  my  proposition  shall  fail,  I 
shall  still  vote  for  the  continuance  of  the  pres- 
ent Governor  in  office.  If  I  cannot  get  what  I 
want,  and  what  I  believe  the  country  requires, 
I  shall  vote  for  as  much  as  I  believe  the  coun- 
try requires.  I  have  patriotism  and  love  of 


208 


country  enough  to  do  it,  and,  with  the  help  oi 
God,  I  intend  to  do  it. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  demanded,  and  the 
motion  to  recommit  was  lost. 

Mr.  STEWART,  (in  explanation  of  his  vote) 
I  have  voted  in  favor  of  bringing  on  the  elec- 
tion up  to  this  time.  I  believe  this  Convention 
has  done  all  that  is  required  of  it,  after  having 
placed  restrictions  upon  the  votes  of  secession- 
ists. If  I  were  in  the  position  of  Gov.  Gam- 
ble, or  Mr.  Hall,  I  would  not  hold  the  position 
another  day,  but  I  would  go  fairly  before  the 
people,  and  should  they  do  so,  they  would,  in 
all  probability,  be  re-elected.  I  think  I  have 
voted  consistently  all  the  way  through.  ] 
think  I  have  not  voted  exactly  as  the  gentleman 
from  Macon  (Mr.  Rowland)  did.  I  under- 
stood him  to  vote  one  way  while  he  desired  to 
act  another.  That  is  not  my  style.  I  am  in  favor 
of  an  election  all  the  way  through  ;  but  I  be 
lieve  the  majority  is  against  me.  u  I,  therefore, 
believe  that  if  the  court  knows  herself,  she  is 
right  on  this  subject."  I  believe  the  people  of 
the  State  will  hold  the  Convention  responsible 
for  not  bringing  on  the  election;  and  I  d?  not 
think  gentlemen  will  make  any  capital  by 
changing  their  votes. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  rule  requires 
all  members  of  the  Convention  to  vote  when 
their  names  are  called.  The  Chair  noticed 
several  who  did  not  answer  to  their  names. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  I  desire  to  know  whether 
the  Chair  considers  a  man  in  the  Convention 
when  he  is  out  in  the  hall. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  There  is  a  rule  that 
when  he  is  in  the  lobby  he  shall  not  vote. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  Whenever  I  don't  want  to 
vote  I  go  into  Ihe  lobby.  I  went  out  just  now 
to  see  how  many  repentant  sinners  there  were, 
and  how  many  gentlemen  would  show  their 
hands,  and  if  I  have  violated  any  rule  I  am  not 
aware  of  it. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on  agree- 
ing to  the  ordinance. 

Mr.  Hitchcock  moved,  as  a  substitute,  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  providing  that 
hereafter  all  general  elections  shall  be  held  on 
the  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  Novem- 
ber. 

This  the  Chair  decided  to  be  a  new  proposi- 
tion, and  out  of  order. 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  then  demanded,  and 
the  vote  resulted  yeas  45,  nays  21. 

So  the  ordinance  was  passed. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE,  (in  explanation  of  his 
vote).  I  voted  for  a  reconsideration  for  two 


reasons.  First,  I  considered  this  a  matter  of 
great  importance;  and,  second,  I  thought  it 
due  that  those  gentlemen  who  had  voted  upon 
the  proposition  without  due  consideration 
should  have  an  opportunity  to  reconsider. 
About  the  whole  matter,  I  have  had  great 
doubts.  I  have  sought  all  the  light  I  could, 
and  up  to  the  moment  of  voting  yesterday,  I 
was  unable  to  decide,  as  I  like,  what  was  the 
policy  best  to  be  pursued.  I  have  not,  however, 
seen  any  good  reason  for  changing  the  vote  I 
gave  yesterday,  and  therefore  I  voted  no. 

Mr.  BRIDGE.  (In  explanation.)  I  have 
seen  no  reason  to  change  my  vote  from  yester- 
day. If  we  can  trust  the  people  with  a  part, 
we  can  with  all.  I  have  no  fault  to  find  with 
Gov.  Gamble,  but  it  seems  to  me  we  should 
trust  the  power  to  the  people.  I  am  not  afraid 
to  have  them  elect  our  rulers,  and  I  shall  vote 
no. 

Mr.  COMINGO.  (In  explanation.)  I  was 
one  of  those  yesterday  who  voted  no  on  a 
similar  proposition,  and  I  confess  I  did  so  with 
great  doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  vote  I 
was  castii  g.  I  have  thought  a  great  deal  about 
it  since,  and  after  due  reflection,  I  feel  con- 
strained to  vote  aye.  I  may  have  been  wrong 
when  I  cast  my  vote  yesterday.  I  was  acting  as 
many  other  gentlemen  have  acted,  fiom  an  im- 
pression of  duty,  and  not  with  a  desire  to  cast 
any  reflection  upon  the  Provisional  Government. 
I  believe  it  is  best  we  should  retain  the  present 
State  officers  at  all  hazards. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  (In  explanation.)  I  voted 
yesterday  cheerfully,  cordially,  and  anxiously 
for  the  passage  of  this  ordinance,  and  I  would 
do  so  again  this  morning,  but  I  would  like  to 
know  if  any  gentleman  on  this  floor  can  say 
whether  there  is  any  probability  that,  under 
present  circumstances,  Gov.  Gamble  would  be 
willing  to  continue  as  Governor  after  the  very 
decided  vote  of  yesterday.  I  will  take  the 
chances  and  vote  anyhow,  but  I  do  not  believe 
he  will  accept  it 

Mr.  DUNN.  I  vote  no  for  the  same  reason 
I  gave  yesterday.  If  I  were  in  Gov.  Gamble's 
position  I  would  prefer  being  elected  by  the 
people  to  being  continued  in  office  by  this 
Convention. 

Mr.  GRAVELLY.  Mr.  President,  I  wish  to 
explain  my  vote  upon  the  subject  now  before 
he  Convention.  On  yesterday  I  voted  against 
his  ordinance  because  I  believed  it  to  be  my 
duty  to  the  State  and  those  of  my  constituents 
who  have  ever  been  loyal  to  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment. The  Convention  established  the 


209 


Provisional  Government  of  Missouri  in  July 
last,  declaring  its  purpose  to  submit  its  action 
to  the  people  for  their  ratification  or  rejection, 
as  soon  as  the  state  of  the  country  would  ena- 
ble the  people  to  express  their  approval  or  dis- 
approbation of  its  action.  I  believe,  sir,  that 
time  has  arrived.  The  people  are  anxious  to 
elect  their  own  officers,  and  I  am  for  giving 
them  an  opportunity  to  do  soon  the  first  Mon- 
day in  August  next. 

It  has  been  said  in  debate  on  this  subject,  I 
think,  by  the  distinguished  gentleman  from 
Clay,  that  the  Convention  had  virtually  repudi- 
ated the  officers  elected  by  this  body  in  July 
last,  by  refusing  to  continue  them  in  office 
until  August,  1864.  Every  member  of  this 
body,  including  the  gentleman  from  Clay,  pro- 
posed to  submit  our  actions  here  to  the  people 
at  the  August  election.  The  ordinance  pro- 
vides that  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
and  Secretary  of  State,  elected  by  this  Conven- 
tion, should  hold  their  offices  until  the  time 
already  mentioned  ;  and  I  have  voted  and  in- 
tend to  vote  to  carry  out  the  agreement  in  good 
faith,  and  it  is  unfair  to  argue  that  I  have 
shown  any  want  of  confidence  in  either  of  the 
officers  alluded  to.  I  am  satisfied  that  I  did 
right  when  I  voted  in  July  last  to  inaugurate 
this  Provisional  Government,  and  more  than 
satisfied  that,  in  voting  for  our  present  officers, 
I  reflected  the  will  of  every  loyal  man  in  my 
district. 

Sir,  there  is  not  a  loyal  man  in  my  district 
whom  I  believe  would  vote  against  Hamilton 
R.  Gamble  for  Governor  of  Missouri,  and  I 
wish  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to  manifest 
their  approval  of  his  wise  and  humane  course 
as  Governor  of  Missouri.  Gentlemen  may  ex- 
pect to  gain  popularity  and  obtain  votes  by 
abusing  the  President  of  the  United  States  and 
declaring  their  opposition  or  hostility  to  the 
Chicago  platform,  but  that  humbug  has  about 
played  out  in  our  part  of  the  Stale. 

Nearly  every  loyal  man,  and  in  my  opinion 
about  two-thirds  of  those  who  have  been  led 
into  this  unholy  rebellion  in  my  district,  will 
vote  against  any  man  who  undertakes  to  get 
votes  by  abusing  the  President. 

His  efforts  to  protect  the  loyal  citizens  of 
Missouri  are  duly  appreciated  by  them,  and 
the  abuse  which  the  intense  pro-slavery  gen- 
tlemen are  constantly  heaping  upon  him  will 
be  unavailing,  and  they  will  learn  that  the  peo- 
ple of  Missouri  do  not  intend  to  be  humbugged 
by  them  any  longer. 

Sir,  being:  anxious  to  give  the  people  an  op- 

14 


portunity  to  endorse  our  action  at  the  polls  and 
to  put  their  seal  of  condemnation  upon  traitors 
and  treason,  I  vote  no. 

Mr.  BIRCH.     Simple  justice  requires 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  gentleman  is 
out  of  order. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  May  I  be  permitted  to  say  this 
much,  that  at  a  time  when  it  will  be  proper  I 
will  ask  the  indulgence  of  the  House  to  read  a 
document,  which  is  all  the  reply  I  wish  to 
make  to  the  magnanimous  assault  of  the  gen- 
tleman, made  under  circumstances  when  I 
could  not  reply. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS.  (In  explanation.)  On 
yesterday  I  voted  against  this  ordinance,  not 
because  I  was  dissatisfied  with  the  present 
Provisional  Government,  or  because  my  con- 
stituents were  dissatisfied.  So  far  from  that, 
I  know  of  no  individual  in  my  district  who 
has  been  dissatisfied  with  the  conduct  of  the 
present  incumbent. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  (In  explanation.)  I  beg 
leave  for  one  moment  to  say  a  word  in  regard 
to  the  vote  I  shall  give.  I  do  not  intend  to 
apologize  for  it,  sir;  but  inasmuch  as  some 
remarks  have  been  made  here  which,  without 
a  disclaimer,  might  be  supposed  to  affect  my 
vote,  I  feel  bound  to  say  this  much  in  explana- 
tion. I  have  heard  no  reason  this  morning 
which  has  changed  my  opinion  as  expressed 
heretofore  on  this  question.  It  was  deemed 
proper  by  one  gentleman  to  raise  the  question 
whether  the  action  of  the  Convention,  on  yes- 
terday was  not  a  repudiation  of  the  Provisional 
Government.  I  was  very  glad,  sir,  to  observe 
that  no  gentleman  seemed  to  consider  himself 
authorized  even  to  intimate  that  the  Executive 
so  considered  it.  This  question  has  been  dis- 
cussed on  grounds  of  public  policy.  I  take  it 
no  man  has  voted  on  any  other  ground,  and  1 
am  surprised  that  any  other  construction 
should  be  raised  on  this  occasion. 

Mr.  LONG.  (In  explanation.)  Like  my 
friend  from  St.  Louis?,  I  have  had  doubts  in  my 
mind  as  to  the  propriety  of  voting  for  the 
election  of  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
and  Secretary  of  State.  Yesterday  I  voted  for 
the  election  of  all  officers,  and,  in  order  to  be 
consistent,  I  believed  it  to  be  necessary  that 
we  should  have  a  Legislature.  Since  that,  I 
have  had  conversation  with  many  members  of 
the  Convention  and  gentlemen  outside,  and 
have  also  received  many  letters  from  gentle- 
men of  St.  Louis,  good  and  loyal  men,  in  refer- 
ence to  this  matter,  and  I  now  begin  to  doubt 
my  own  judgment  in  casting  that  vote  I  did. 


210 


The  refusal  to  pass  this  ordinance  yesterday, 
relieves  the  present  Executive  from  his  duties 
in  August.  Then,  sir,  the  bare  possibility  of 
having  him  superseded  in  that  chair  by  some 
gentleman  of  doubtful  loyalty,  or  who  might 
be  radical  in  his  political  views,  I  think,  sir, 
would  be  sufficient  cause  for  me  to  change 
that  vote  which  1  gave  yesterday.  The  Gov- 
ernor of  this  State  took  the  helm  in  a  stormy 
hour,  and  he  has  conducted  the  ship  of  slate 
to  a  harbor  of  safety;  and,  after  mature  ie- 
flection,  I  have  become  satisfied  we  should  not 
abandon  him  when  he  has  so  faithfully  stood 
by  us.  I  vote  aye. 

Mr.  MARVIN.  (In  explanation.)  I  came 
to  this  Convention  with  no  other  expectation 
than  that  of  bringing  on  all  the  elections,  both 
for  Governor  and  the  Legislature.  With  that 
feeling,  and  having  come  to  that  conclusion,  I 
voted  yesterday  against  the  passage  of  this 
ordinance.  With  regard  to  the  Legislature,  I 
am  clearly  satisfied  of  its  necessity.  I  have 
been  conferring  for  a  few  months  with  my 
constituents,  and  they  have  expected  that  this 
election,  as  well  as  the  election  for  Governor, 
would  come  off;  and  I  say  here  no  gentleman 
has  the  right  to  impugn  my  motives  in  the  vote 
I  gave  yesterday,  or  to  declare  that  I  did  it  as 
a  rebuke  to  the  present  incumbents.  I  did  it 
with  the  intention  of  going  before  my  consti- 
tuents and  inducing  them  to  endorse  my  action 
on  this  vote.  There  are  no  men  in  the  State 
of  Missouri  whom  I  would  sooner  vote  for 
than  the  present  incumbents.  They  are  my 
choice  from  first  to  last.  There  is  an  absolute 
necessity  for  the  election  of  a  Legislature,  but 
it  is  contended  that  we  can  with  propriety  dis- 
pense with  the  election  of  Governor.  It  has 
been  asserted,  time  and  again,  that  we  do  vio- 
lence to  no  law  in  continuing  the  present  Pro- 
visional Government.  I  think,  therefore,  under 
the  circumstances,  that  we  had  better  continue 
the  election  for  Governor. 

Mr.  McCoBMACK.  (In  explanation.)  I 
voted  yesterday  on  a  principle  that  I  believed 
was  right— on  the  principle  of  self-government 
I  was  in  favor  of  referring  this  thing  back  to 
the  people.  After  mature  reflection  upon  this 
matter,  and  believing  without  the  least  shadow 
of  a  doubt  that  an  immense  majority  of  the 
people  whom  I  have  the  honor  to  represent  on 
this  floor  are  in  favor  of  the  present  incumbents; 
and  that  I,  by  changing  my  vote  now  to  retain 
them  in  office,  only  effect  the  object  which 
they  themselves  will  effect  by  their  own  votes 
in  August  next ;  and  that  it  is  probable  that, 


by  retaining  them  in  office  the  discussion  of 
very  grave  questions  which  my  constituents  do 
not  wish  to  discuss  may  be  avoided,  I  bhall, 
therefore,  vote  aye. 

Mr.  MEYER.  (In  explanation.)  As  it 
seems  to  be  in  order  to  explain  votes,  I  desire 
simply  to  say  that  I  have  the  highest  respect 
for  Governor  Gamble,  Lieutenant-Governor 
Hall,  and  for  our  Secretary  of  State  ;  but,  sir, 
I  believe  a  large  majority  of  the  people  whom 
I  have  the  honor  in  part  to  represent  here  favor 
an  election;  and  believing  that  we  can  hold  an 
election  all  through  the  State,  and  in  almost 
every  county  within  the  State,  and  can  get  a 
fair  expression  of  the  people,  I  am  bound  to 
vote  no. 

Mr.  RITCHEY.  (In  explanation.)  I  am 
one  of  those  who  voted  against  this  ordinance 
on  yesterday,  and  I  was  one  of  those  who  voted 
for  a  reconsideration  of  that  vote  this  morning. 
My  reason  for  voting  against  the  ordinance 
was,  I  had  no  disposition  to  take  the  right  of 
choosing  State  officers  from  the  people.  My 
reason  for  voting  this  morning  for  a  reconsider- 
ation was,  I  was  willing  to  hear  the  arguments 
of  any  gentleman  in  this  house  in  favor  of  that 
ordinance.  I  have  heard  nothing  that  has 
convinced  me  that  my  vote  was  wrong  yester- 
day, and  I  therefore  vote  no. 

Mr.  SHACKELFORD  of  Howard.  (In  expla- 
nation.) I  voted  for  a  reconsideration  this 
morning  with  the  hope  that  gentlemen  who 
had  voted  down  the  proposition  to  postpone  all 
elections,  would  move  a  reconsideration  of  that 
also.  Inasmuch  as  that  has  not  been  done,  and 
the  action  of  this  body  now  is  to  have  no  elec- 
tion for  Governor  and  other  officers,  and  only 
an  election  for  members  of  the  Legislature, 
with  restrictions  around  the  elective  franchise, 
and  believing  it  to  be  inconsistent  with  our  free 
institutions,  I  must  therefore  vote  no. 

Mr.  SOL  SMITH.  (In  explanation.)  Mr. 
President,  I  voted  to  reconsider  this  question, 
and  when  a  motion  was  made,  as  I  supposed, 
to  commit  it  to  the  committee  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  about  a  compromise,  I  voted  for 
that.  If  I  could  believe,  Mr.  President,  with 
my  colleague  Mr.  Meyer,  that  my  constituents 
wished  me  to  change  my  vote,  I  should  cer- 
tainly do  it.  I  came  here,  as  far  as  I  know 
now,  to  represent  their  opinions,  not  my  own 
when  in  centra-distinction  to  theirs.  I  regret 
to  part  in  one  vote  from  my  colleagues.  I  give 
them  the  credit  of  voting  as  they  think  right, 
and  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  their  con- 
stituents, but  at  the  same  time  I  must  have  the 


211 


privilege  of  judging  of  that  myself.  For  iny 
part,  I  have  seen  no  reason  for  believing  that 
my  constituents  wish  to  exercise  the  right  of 
electing  State  officers.  The  only  thing  I  have 
seen  is  a  resolution,  published  in  a  paper 
printed  in  a  foreign  language,  which  said  : 
"Down  with  the  Convention!'7  "Down  with 
Gamble!  "  Now,  I  do  not  know  whether  this 
has  had  any  effect  on  my  colleagues — it  cer- 
tainly has  had  none  on  me,  and  I  do  not  consider 
it  an  indication  of  public  sentiment,  I  agree 
with  my  colleague  Mr.  Hitchcock,  and  my 
young  friend  Mr.  Breckinridge,  in  this,  that 
there  has  nothing  happened  since  yesterday  to 
induce  me  to  change  my  vote.  I  vote  aye. 

The  vote  was  then  announced. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  move  to  reconsider  the 
vote  just  taken,  and  to  lay  that  motion  on  the 
table. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

CONFIDENCE   IN   THE   GOVERNOR. 

Mr.  DUNN  then  offered  a  resolution  to  the 
effect  that  this  Convention  has  undiminishecl 
confidence  in  the  patriotism,  wisdom,  and  in- 
tegrity of  Governor  Gamble  and  the  other 
officers  elected  by  the  Convention,  and  now 
continued  in  office  for  the  rest  of  the  term. 

Mr.  DUNN.  One  word  of  explanation.  I 
deem  that  resolution  necessary  to  preclude  any 
misconstruction  of  the  position  occupied  by  a 
number  of  us  in  reference  to  the  votes  which  we 
have  deemed  it  our  duty  to  give  in  connection 
with  this  subject.  I  voted  against  postponing 
the  election  of  Governor  solely  and  entirely 
from  considerations  of  public  policy — not  that 
I  had  a  particle  of  objection  to  Governor 
Gamble  or  the  other  officers ;  on  the  contrary, 
I  fully  intended  to  vote  for  Governor  Gamble, 
and  use  my  influence  in  favor  of  his  re-election. 
The  Convention  has  just  done  what  I  would 
have  done  as  one  of  the  people  of  the  State. 
I  preferred,  however,  that  we  should  adhere  to 
the  platform  heretofore  inaugurated  by  the 
Convention,  because  this  ordinance  continuing 
these  officers  differs  from  the  previous  policy 
of  the  Convention,  to  permit  the  election  to  go 
to  the  people.  But  as  the  Convention  has  in 
its  wisdom  deemed  proper  to  continue  these  offi- 
cers, I  therefore  acquiesce  in  that  decision  5  and 
I  have  no  doubt  but  that  on  our  return  home  to 
our  constituents  they  will  meet  us  with  the  as 
surance  that  we  have  done  precisely  what  they 
would  have  done.  As  I  remarked  in  explana- 
tion of  my  vote,  if  I  had  been  in  Governor 
Gamble's  situation,  I  should  have  preferred  to 
hold  the  office  of  Governor  by  an  election  from 


the  people  to  holding  it  by  continuance  from 
an  ordinance  of  this  Convention.  I  deem  this 
resolution  necessary  to  place  those  of  us  who 
voted  against  the  postponement  of  the  election 
right  upon  the  record.  If  I  know  iny  own 
heart,  I  must  say  that  Governor  Gamble  has 
not  within  the  limits  of  the  State  a  more  sincere 
friend  than  I  claim  to  be.  I  have  the  highest 
confidence  in  his  ability,  integrity,  and  patriot- 
ism. I  hope,  therefore,  this  resolution  will 
pass  unanimously. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  shall  vote,  Mr.  President, 
with  great  cordiality  for  the  resolution  which 
has  been  offered  by  my  colleague,  Judge  Dunn. 
Whilst  my  judgment  may  not  have  commended 
all  the  administrative  discretion  wherewith, 
with  so  much  unanimity,  we  felt  it  to  be  our 
duty  to  invest  the  Provisional  Government  of 
the  State,  I  have  seen  nothing  in  the  conduct  of 
Governor  Gamble  which  has  impaired  my 
confidence  either  in  his  patriotism  or  his  in- 
tegrity; and  think  it  both  appropriate  and 
proper,  after  the  division  of  opinion  which 
has  been  manifested  in  respect  to  the  election 
of  a  Governor,  that  this  resolution  should  pass 
(as  I  trust  it  may)  nemine  contra-discente. 

Being  no  longer  (of  course)  a  candidate  for 
the  station  he  has  so  worthily  filled  at  the  in- 
stance of  the  Convention,  and  which  it  has 
been  just  resolved  he  shall  continue  to  occupy 
during  the  unexpired  term  of  the  deposed  Gov- 
ernor, it  is  trusted  I  may  be  at  length  permitted 
to  refer  to  an  extract  from  a  free  State  Union 
paper,  which  differs  so  materially  from  some 
other  free  State  papers  that  I  was  tempted, 
during  my  detention  in  St.  Louis,  to  cut  it  from 
the  files  of  the  Planters'  House,  where  I  found 
it  incorporated  in  an  editorial  paragraph  in 
the  St!  Joseph  Gazette.  If,  after  the  sinister 
criticisms  which  other  free  State  papers  have 
seen  fit  to  make  in  respect  to  the  loyalty  of 
Governor  Gamble  and  myself,  there  be  anything 
immodest  in  thus  reading  the  opinions  of  an 
editor  less  warped  in  his  judgment  by  the  fell 
spirit  of  military  abolitionism  than  other  papers 
are,  (to  which  I  will  refer  presently,)  I  submit 
myself  to  the  forgiveness  of  the  Convention,  as 
a  citizen  who  thus  ventures  to  read  of  himself 
one  of  many  good  opinions  which  he  has  never 
repeated  as  a  candidate.  The  paragraphs  are 
from  the  "  Doniphan  Patriot,"  a  town  in 
Kansas  which  was  named  in  honor  of  my 
illustrious  friend  from  Clay,  and  are  in  these 
words : 

"JUDGE  BIRCH. — When  the  troubles  first 
broke  out  in  Missouri,  Judge  Birch  was  the 


212 


first  man  who  had  the  courage  to  stand  up  and 
oppose  secession  boldly;  this  he  did,  and  at  a 
time  when  to  do  it  required  a  man. 

"This  position  he  nobly  maintained  through 
all  the  trying  hours  of  the  rebellion  in  Missouri, 
never  faltering,  neVer  doubting,  till  having  won 
the  plaudits  of  the  Union  men  of  that  State,  he 
ventured  to  announce  himself  a  candidate  for 
Governor,  with  the  approbation  of  the  greater 
portion  of  the  friends  of  the  Union  cause." 

I  again  apologize,  Mr.  President,  if  in  the 
feeling  of  the  moment  which  finds  me  released 
alike  on  the  responsibilities  and  the  criticisms 
of  a  popular  canvass,  I  have  in  any  respect 
transcended  the  bounds  of  delicacy  in  having 
thus  ventured  to  read  a  commendation  which 
was  intended  for  no  other  purpose,  when  cut- 
ting it  from  the  paper  alluded  to,  than  the 
family  "  scrap  book/'  through  which  I  have 
hoped  my  children  and  grand-children  may  by 
and  bye  look  at  least  without  blushing,  if  not 
without  emulation. 

I  come  to  speak,  however,  more  directly  to 
the  resolution  of  my  colleague,  and  as  prelim- 
inary to  this  I  need  only  refer  to  what  I  have 
ever  understood  to  be  the  identity  of  opinion 
between  Governor  Gamble  and  myself  in  re- 
spect to  the  great  domestic  question  out  of 
which  our  present  unhappy  complications  have 
grown,  and  in  respect  to  which  we  concur  in 
opinion  as  to  the  appropriate  remedy — of 
which  "by  and  bye." 

I  did  not  doubt,  at  a  former  session  of  this 
Convention,  that  in  the  course  of  more  than 
thirty  years'  acquaintance  with  the  Governor, 
I  had  rightly  divined  his  position  upon  the 
question  of  domestic  slavery.  I  had  heard  him 
state  substantially,  in  a  reply  to  some  remarks 
which  were  made  during  our  first  session  in  St. 
Louis,  that  nothing  could  make  him  an  anti- 
slavery  man ;  and  I  hence  avouched  him  to  my 
constituents,  on  my  return  from  our  June  ses- 
sion, (at  which  we  so  unanimously  elected  him 
our  Governor,)  as  being  as  "sound"  upon  the 
question  of  "slavery"  as  I  was  myself.  A 
few  days,  however,  brought  us  his  proclama- 
tion, (the  first  he  had  ever  issued,)  in  which,  in 
respect  to  our  life-long  policy  upon  that  ques- 
tion, he  distinctly  announced  it  to  all  the  people 
of  the  State,  that  they  had  in  his  position  as 
Governor,  a  guaranty  that  the  institution  of 
slavery  would  suffer  no  detriment,  but  would 
receive  all  proper  protection  in  his  keeping.  I 
have  not  before  me  the  proclamation  alluded 
to,  but  am  confident,  as  well  from  my  own 
recollection  as  from  an  additional  incident  to 


which  I  may  as  well  allude,  that  I  do  not  state 
its  position  too  strongly.  That  incident  is, 
(or  rather  was,)  that  in  the  early  part  of  the 
canvass  from  which  the  vote  just  taken  has 
relieved  me,  I  was  so  approached  by  a  repre- 
sentative "emancipationist'5  in  St.  Louis, as  to 
denote  that  that  proclamation  had  fixed  an 
impassable  g-ulf  between  the  Governor  and  that 
party — and  had  I  been  base  enough  to  have 
"  caught  at"  the  obviously  intended  suggestion, 
f  might,  of  course,  have  escaped  the  oppro- 
brium which  has  since  been  lavished  by  the 
press  of  that  party  alike  upon  the  Governor  and 
myself.  Because  I  did  not  do  so,  I  of  course 
claim  no  merit}  for/ratZ  I  done  so,  I  would  have 
been  as  base  a  knave  as  those  who  thus  essayed 

to "wye"  me.     Let  the  Governor  himself, 

therefore,  answer,  (if  there  be  those  who  desire 
to  be  more  specifically  or  circumstantially  in- 
formed of  the  mere  facts,)  whether  "me  and 
mine,"  from  first  to  last,  have  or  have  not  stood 
by  him,  in  consonance  with  all  the  implications 
of  good  faith,  of  patriotism,  and  of  honor?  I 
ask  no  other  witness,  and  of  course  deprecate 
none. 

As  time  and  events  wore  on,  Mr.  President, 
it  found  me  a  candidate  for  the  place  so 
worthily  filled  by  the  gentleman  whom  I  had 
so  earnestly  invited  in  calling  to  it — the  reason 
of  which  I  may  more  distinctly  allude  to  in 
conclusion.  At  present  I  but  desire  to  devote 
a  passing  remark  to  those  whose  calumnies 
against  us  are  prompted  by  the  same  narrow 
and  malignant  impulse — the  same  fanatical  and 
unfraternal  purpose.  Passing  by  the  Demo- 
crat, (the  organ  of  "  Col.  Boyd,"  at  St.  Louis,) 
and  the  German  papers  of  the  same  city,  who 
slanderously  clamor,  in  the  same  paragraphs, 
against  the  "scorpion"  and  the  "washer- 
woman"— disregarding  these  exponents  of  the 
mere  bitterness  of  Missouri  abolitionism,  the 
gentleman  who  sits  next  to  me  has  kindly 
loaned  me  the  St.  Louis  News  of  yesterday, 
from  which  I  read,  as  copied  from  the  "Gate 
City,"  of  Keokuk,  in  our  neighboring  State 
of  Iowa,  this  paragraph : 

"Governor  Gamble  has  not  exhibited  any 
heart  in  his  support  of  the  Union  cause  from 
the  first.  He  is  a  seedy,  fossil,  conservative 
slaveholder,  devoted  with  all  the  ardor  of  a 
strong  but  narrow  mind  to  the  interests  of  his 
class.  If  his  heart  had  been  in  the  cause,  the 
rebellion  might  have  been  put  down  in  Missouri 
long  ago ;  but  he  regarded  the  troops  of  the 
United  States  as  a  hostile  army  in  the  midst  of 
his  people,  and  showed  them  little  aid  or 


213 


countenance.  He  now  stimulates  the  preju- 
dices of  the  people,  and  seemingly  justifies  the 
murderous  assaults  of  the  secesh  guerrillas 
upon  the  troops  in  Missouri,  by  stigmatizing 
them  as  "hostile  troops."  He  has  never  been 
regarded  as  a  straight  Union  man  in  Northern 
Missouri ;  and  we  think  that  the  majority  of 
the  men  who  fought  for  the  cause  of  the  Union 
in  its  hour  of  greatest  peril  in  Missouri,  do  not 
regard  Governor  Gamble  as  a  whit  more  loyal 
than  Judge  Birch,  recently  arrested  on  the 
charge  of  treason." 

It  is  not  necessary,  Mr.  President,  that  I 
should  do  more  in  order  to  denote  the  general 
unfairness  and  malignity  of  this  article,  than 
to  recall  attention  to  its  own  "narrow-minded" 
estimate  of  the  distinguished  jurist  and  civilian, 
with  whom  I  feel  it  rather  an  honor  than  other- 
wise to  be  associated  in  Keokuk,  as  I  am  in 
St.  Louis,  in  the  same  category  of  malignant 
and  calumnious  opprobrium.  With  such  a  vote 
as  I  doubt  not  will  be  presently  given  upon  the 
resolution  of  my  colleague,  it  is  trusted  that 
both  the  Governor  and  myself  may  be  able  to 
outlive  the  assaults  of  the  abolition  press,  and 
that  our  State  institution  of  "slavery"  may  in 
like  manner  survive  the  portended  onslaught 
ef  the  abolition  vote. 

Appropos,  Mr.  President:  The  gentleman 
from  Cedar  (Mr.  Gravelly)  took  occasion,  in 
cxplaning  his  vote  a  few  minutes  since,  to 
reprehend  such  gentlemen  as  were  candidates 
upon  the  platform  denoted  in  the  phrases  I 
have  so  often  employed,  and  having  reference, 
of  course,  to  my  own  position.  It  is  not,  of 
course,  for  me  to  characterize  either  the  mag- 
nanimity, the  bravery,  or  the  fairness  of  that 
gentleman's  allusion,  as  made  at  the  moment 
when  the  Convention  was  virtually  voting  me 
cut  of  the  canvass,  and  when,  moreover,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  the  Convention,  my  lips 
were  sealed  against  all  impromptu  reply.  I 
reply  now,  however,  to  the  stereotyped  de- 
clamation of  all  such  gentlemen ;  and  I  refer 
to  friends  upon  the  floor  here  from  St.  Louis 
to  verify  the  statement,  that  in  spite  of  my 
utmost  exertions  to  the  contrary,  the  emancipa- 
tion question  has  been  thrust  into  this  canvass, 
and  that  we  must  either  permit  such  gentlemen 
as  those  who  inaugurated  it  two  months  ago, 
at  the  great  meeting  in  Franklin  county,  to 
sweep  the  State  with  such  speeches  as  those  to 
which  we  listened  on  Saturday  from  the  elo- 
quent delegate  from  St.  Louis,  (Mr.  Breckin- 
ridge,)  or  we  must  meet  and  oppose  facts  to 
fallacies — historic  accuracy  to  the  most  inju- 


rious historic  sophistries.  Thus,  whilst  I  was 
even  imploring  that  portion  of  "  the  Union 
party"  in  St.  Louis  and  elsewhere,  who  have 
imbibed  the  heresy  of  emancipation,  that  the 
State  might  be  spared  the  infliction  of  a  new 
and  male-fic  slavery  agitation  in  this  canvass, 
the  "emancipation  conspirators"  (if  I  may 
call  them  so  without  intending  any  personal 
disrespect)  were  concocting  and  agreeing  upon 
the  dogma  whereon  they  were  to  base  their 
reliance  in  this  canvass,  namely:  the  dogma 
which  1  have  been  impelled  to  confute  at  Chil- 
licofhe,  at  Boonville,  and  elsewhere,  or  permit 
it  to  go  w?ianswered,  and  pass  thence  as  current 
political  history,  which  (if  true)  would,  of 
course,  itself  seal  the  doom  of  the  institution 
to  which  I  was  born,  and  which  has  at  least  the 
guaranty  of  constitutional  perpetuity  in  this 
State,  unless  in  the  far,/ar-off  future  we  should 
find  ourselves  both  able  and  willing  to  pay  for 
the  property  thus  solemnly  guaranteed  to  its 
owners. 

I  repeat,  Mr.  President,  we  have  to  meet  this 
"  slavery  question  "  in  the  approaching  can- 
vass. We  have  to  meet  such  men  as  Breckin- 
ridge,  and  Brown,  and  Blair,  and  lesser  lights 
throughout  the  State,  or  to  acknowledge  that 
they  have  the  better  cause,  and  that  we  there- 
fore fear  to  meet  them  j  and  whilst  the  man 
who  would  counsel  the  latter  may  talk  as  he 
pleases — may  inveigh  as  it  pleaees  him  against 
those  who  simply  take  up  the  gauge  of  contro- 
versy which  has  been  thus  forced  upon  us — for 
one,  I  want  no  better  evidence  that  he  himself 
has  taken  at  least  the  first  degree  in  the  inevi- 
tably progressive  school  of  ultra  abolitionism. 
All  unconscious  though  he  may  be  of  the  fact, 
the  history  of  those  who  have  preceded  him 
bears  but  unbroken  testimony  to  the  path  and 
the  goal  of  his  final  destiny.  I  reciprocate, 
therefore,  the  admonition  so  courteously  ten- 
dered to  me  by  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis — 
a  gentleman  in  the  substantial  as  well  as  the 
conventional  sense  of  that  much  abused  desig- 
nation— when  I  express  the  undoubting  con- 
viction that  he  will  have  fully  fraternized  with 
"the  abolitionists'  of  the  North,"  at  lea-st  as 
soon  as  I  will  have  fraternized  with  "the  traitors 
of  the  South" — and  thus  I  leave  the  future  of 
both  of  us  dependent,  somewhat,  upon  the 
course,  the  progress,  and  the  success  of  such 
gentlemen  as  himself.  May  an  omnipotent 
destiny  concur  in  dedicating  us  alike  to  the 
preservation  of  "  the  Union  as  it  was,"  which, 
to  my  mind,  implies  the  recognition  and  pro- 
tection of  "slavery  a*  it  is." 


214 


There  are  some  facts,  Mr.  President,  which 
should  be  now  and  then  repeated,  with  the 
design  of  preserving  them  for  reference,  if  for 
nothing  else,  and  it  is  in  that  sense,  and  for  a 
purpose  which  will  be  additionally  denoted  in 
this  connection,  that  I  ask  permission  to  read 
from  a  letter  which  I  received  yesterday  from 
St.  Louis,  an  extract  from  "The  Great  West/' 
a  historical  compilation  recently  published,  as 
follows  : 

"  When  the  news  came  to  St.  Louis  that 
Congress  had  determined  (in  1820)  that  the 
people  of  Missouri  should  frame  their  own 
Constitution,  and  decide  for  themselves 
6  slavery '  or  its  rejection,  the  minds  of  the 
people  became  fearfully  agitated  on  the  very 
subject  which  threatened  such  serious  conse- 
quences at  Washington.  It  appeared  that  the 
political  storm  had  not  spent  its  fury,  and  had 
passed  from  the  east  to  rage  with  violence  near 
the  western  horizon.  The  same  question  which 
had  distracted  Congress,  when  removed  to 
Missouri  lost  none  of  its  exciting  qualities.  In 
St.  Louis,  from  its  being  the  largest  town  in 
the  State,  and  consequently  the  main  stage 
where  the  political  drama  would  be  played,  the 
inhabitants  divided  themselves  into  two  great 
factions — one  in  opposition  to  slavery,  and  the 
other  in  advocating  it.  Both  parties  selected 
their  most  influential  members  to  form  a  ticket 
to  be  elected  by  the  people  to  represent  St. 
Louis  county  in  the  Convention  that  was  to 
form  the  Constitution  of  the  State.  The  fol- 
lowing named  gentremen  were  announced  as 
candidates  representing  St.  Louis  county,  and 
were : 

For  ike  Admission  of  Missouri  aa  a  Slave  State : 
fcT.  F.  Riddick,  Gen.  William  Rector, 

Col.  Alex.  McNair,.      David  Barton, 
John  C.  Sullivan,          Edward  Bates, 
Wilson  P.  Hunt,  Alexander  Stewart, 

Matthias  McGirk.' 
INDEPENDENT  TICKET. 

i  Opposed  to  the  further  introduction  of  Slaves  in 
Missouri. 

CFOR    CONVENTION. 

f  Judge  J.  Bk  C.  Lucas,  Robert  Simpson, 
Rufus  Pettibone,  Caleb  Bowles, 

Abraham  Peck,  William  Long, 

John  Bobb,  John  Brown.' 

"  The  ticket  elected  July  19,  1820,  for  rep- 
resenting St.  Louis  county,  were  all  gentlemen, 
STRONG  pro-slavery  men.  Not  one  of  the  anti- 
slavery  candidates  was  elected.  To  represent 
St.  Louis  county,  when  the  Convention  was 
called  to  form  the  Constitution,  the  choice  of 


the  people  rested  upon  the  following  gentle- 
men, viz :  Edward  Bates,  Col.  Alexander  Mc- 
Nair, John  C.  Sullivan,  Pierre  Chouteau,  jr., 
Bernard  Pratte,  and  Thomas  F.  Riddick." 

The  foregoing  quotations  can  be  found,  com- 
mencing at  page  322  of  the  book  referred  to, 
and  are  reproduced  as  succinctly  embodying 
the  Slate  history  of  the  slavery  question  two 
and  forty  years  ago.  What  was  true  of  the 
city  and  county  of  St.  Louis  was  true  of  the 
State.  Its  ablest  men  were  brought  out  and 
elected  to  the  Convention,  and  so  wrote  down 
our  fundamental  law  as  to  inspire  the  belief 
that  we  might  live  exempt  in  all  the  future 
from  the  strife  and  the  storms  through  which 
we  had  been  destined  to  "admission  as  a  slave 
State."  It  was  hence  argued  in  the  State  of 
Kentucky,  as  an  inducement  to  emigrate  to 
Missouri,  that  her  Constitution  was  fixed — be- 
ing virtually  irrepealable — and  (hat  such  names 
as  those  of  Barton  and  Bates  of  the  Conven- 
tion, and  Benton  of  the  press,  (afterwards  of 
the  Senate,)  constituted  at  least  a  guarantee 
that  the  faith  thus  plighted  would  be  kept  with 
the  slaveholders  thus  induced  to  rely  upon  it. 
Let  others  answer,  Mr.  President,  how  well  it 
would  be  kept  by  any  of  the  methods  thus  far 
proposed  for  its  extinction,  including  even  the 
plan  of  the  distinguished  delegate  from  St. 
Louis,  which  would  have  inhibited  from  the 
State  all  southern  emigration,  thereby  encour- 
aging such  a  tide  from  the  North  as  it  was 
doubtless  believed  would  be  decisive  of  the 
question  at  the  election  two  years  hence.  If 
such  be  the  lauded  fairness  of  aw/i-slavery, 
commend  me  still  more  firmly  to  at  least  the 
ingeniousness  and  "good/ai/A"  of  the  "pe- 
culiar institution"  of  our  fathers. 

But  I  pass  on  to  record  the  data  upon  which 
to  predicate  a  reference  to  Ihe  great  change 
which  has,  in  like  manner,  overcome  the  edi- 
tors or  managers  of  the  principal  Republican 
or  emancipation  paper  in  the  State — Ihe  St. 
Louis  Democrat.  Time  was,  Mr.  President, 
and  that  but  a  few  years  since,  when  even  that 
paper  resented,  as  "the  work  of  political  f&es," 
what  it  now  regards  as  its  highest  merit — 
namely,  the  endorsement  of  a  "  Black  Repub- 
lican Ticket.'3  In  proof  of  th-is,  read  the  fol- 
lowing advertisement  from  its  daily  edition,  on 
the  morning  of  the  election  six  years  ago  : 

"  ONE  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  REWARD. — A 
DASTARDLY  FRAUD  —  Saturday,  jlugust  3, 
1856. — In  this  morning's  issue  of  the  Democrat, 
some  infamous  scoundrel  inserted  at  the  head 
of  the  State  ticket  the  line  <  Black  Republi- 


215 


can.'  This  act  has  been  the  work  of  our  po- 
litical foes,  accomplished  by  bribery  ;  and  all 
parties  concerned  will  be  publicly  exposed  as 
soon  as  the  facts  are  elicited.  The  reward  will 
be  paid  by  calling  at  this  office." 

I  am  weary,  Mr.  President,  and  could  not  go 
on,  if  I  even  would,  to  contrast  the  thousand 
dollar  indignation  once  affected  by  the  Demo- 
crat, with  the  twice  ten  thousand  dollar  com- 
mendation it  now  bestows  upon  those  who  can 
be  induced  to  head,  or  even  support,  the  ticket 
which  it  so  emphatically  eschewed  in  the  days 
of  BENTON.  "  Other  idols  have  since  taken 
possession"  of  them  ;  so  that  even  the  memory 
of  the  sagacious  and  illustrious  Senator  has 
been  left  to  the  vindication  of  those  who  were 
once  his  adversaries,  though  never  in  the  sense 
in  which,  in  his  last  days,  he  so  denounced  the 
Democrat  and  those  whom  it  is  now  serving.  I 
will  not  in  this  connection  repeat,  but  simply 
again  refer  to  his  last  letters  from  Washington, 
as  incorporated  in  my  remarks  of  Saturday  last, 
and  trust  they  may  at  least  be  preserved  for 
use  in  the  canvass  before  us. 

In  that  canvass,  I  repeat,  we  cannot  avoid 
the  issue  which  has  been  inaugurated  if  we 
would,  and  which  (being  no  longer  a  candidate) 
I  have,  at  least,  no  sinister  moiive  for  adding, 
we  perhaps  should  not  if  we  could.  It  has 
been  forced  upon  us  by  those  who  have  their 
own  ends  in  view,  and  they  are  to  be  accredited 
as  being  at  least  earnest  men,  who,  although 
frustrated  in  their  purpose  to  carry  it  into  the 
election  for  Governor  will  carry  it  but  the  wore 
earnestly  into  all  other  elections.  They  will 
hence  have  a  ticket  whenever  they  have  the 
least  hope  of  success;  and  where  their  strength 
may  be  deemed  unpropitious  for  so  openz  pur- 
pose, they  will  throw  what  strength  they  have 
upon  such  candidates,  not  openly  in  their  favor, 
as  they  can  have  the  best  understanding  with, 
whether  in  respect  to  the  present  or  the  future. 
To  talk,  therefore,  of  ignoring  an  issue  thus 
defiantly  tendered  and  forced  upon  us,  is  to  talk 
like  men  who  have  made  up  their  minds  to  ul- 
timately take  passage  upon  the  same  boat  j  and 
the  statistics  of  the  coming  election  will  be 
combined  and  regarded  accordingly.  Shall 
these  statistics  be  such  as  cannot  be  mistaken 
or  perverted  to  our  prejudice,  and  to  the  re- 
pression of  all  further  emigration  from  the 
slave  States,  or  shall  our  friends  and  kindred 
there  be  still  encouraged  to  feel  that  there  is 
yet  a  home  for  them  in  Missouri  ?  Let  the  re- 
turns of  the  coming  election,  therefore,  in  that 
manner  denote  and  thereby  decide  the  future 


status,  and  the  consequent  future  destiny,  of 
the  STATE  j  and  to  that  end  let  there  be  a  full 
and  proper  organization,  or  at  least  an  earnest 
and  an  investigating  watchfulness,  in  every 
county,  and  in  every  district,  and  "all  will 
again  be  well." 

Mr.  ORR.  I  want  to  make  a  proposition 
which  I  think  will  conduce  to  the  benefit  of 
this  Convention.  We  have  agreed  by  a  very 
decided  vote  that  we  would  not  discuss  this  ne- 
gro question  during  the  further  session  of  this 
Convention,  but  I  want  to  say  that  if  it  is  per- 
mitted during  this  Convention  to  make  a  speech 
in  favor  of  slavery,  I  shall  do  what  I  can  to 
get  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  to  introduce 
a  counter  proposition,  and  have  them  argued 
fairly  and  squarely.  I  want  to  renew  the  pro- 
position that  I  made  at  Boonville,  in  reply  to 
Judge  Birch's  speech  made  at  another  place. 
Judge  Birch  had  undertaken  to  reply  to  a 
speech  of  Mr.  Drake,  at  St.  Louis.  One  had 
proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  friends  that 
the  war  was  brought  about  by  slavery  ;  and 
the  other  had  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  his 
friends  that  it  had  been  brought  about  by  anti- 
slavery.  Now,  I  propose  to  meet  any  individ- 
ual, whether  slavery  or  anti-slavery,  in  this  hall, 
outside  of  this  Convention,  and  prove  to  the 
satisfaction  of  any  jury  such  person  or  per- 
sons may  select,  male  or  female,  that  whisky 
and  tobacco  had  more  to  do  in  bringing  about 
this  war  than  slavery  or  anti-slavery. 

Mr.  GRAVELLY.  I  hope  that  no  gentleman 
anticipates  that  I  will  attempt  to  reply  to  the 
remarks  of  the  distinguished  gentleman  from 
Clinton.  I  think  I  know  myself  too  well  to 
undertake  any  thing  of  the  kind ;  and  I  only 
rise  for  the  purpose  of  informing  the  distin- 
guished gentleman  from  Clinton  that  in  sup- 
posing I  intended  to  rebuke  him, —  he  whose 
name  is  associated  with  all  the  great  names  of 
the  country — he  whose  name  and  whose  acts 
have  for  so  many  years  been  connected  with 
all  the  great  and  distinguished  men  in  the  land — 
that  I  consider  myself  too  humble  an  individu- 
al to  attempt  anything  of  the  kind.  The  idea 
that  I,  an  humble  individual  from  the  county 
of  Cedar,  should  undertake  to  rebuke  such  a 
man  !  I  want  him  to  understand  that  I  had  no 
such  motive  in  the  explanation  of  my  vote — 
none  in  the  world.  I  can  only  account  for  the 
distinguished  gentleman's  imagining  that  I  al- 
luded to  him  in  this  way  :  In  old  Virginia,  the 
State  from  which  I  carne,  as  well  as  the  distin- 
guished gentleman  from  Clinton,  a  man  who 
had  hitherto  occupied  a  respectable  position  in 


216 


society,  threw  a  black  snake  into  a  crowd  of 
ladies,  and  was  indicted  and  fined  very  heavily 
for  so  doing.  He  became  nearly  deranged. 
He  knew  he  had  committed  a  great  wrong. 
Some  time  after  that  he  went  to  hear  an  old 
iron-sided  Baptist  preacher.  The  vejierable 
preacher  read  for  his  text  that  passage  in  the 
Bible  which  says,  "  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  ser- 
pent in  the  wilderness."  The  moment  he  had 
got  that  far,  the  concsience  stricken  individual 
raised  himself  up,  like  the  distinguished  gen- 
tleman from  Clinton,  and  says  he  :  "  Old  hoss, 
if  you  raise  that  question  here  again,  I  am  done 
with  you  forever."  Certainly  nothing  uttered 
by  the  gentleman  from  Cedar  could  be  constru- 
ed into  an  attack  upon  the  distinguished  gen- 
tleman from  Clinton,  except  he  was  in  the  same 
condition  of  mind  as  the  man  with  the  black 
snake.  1  only  said  this,  that  the  people  of  Ce- 
dar were  tired  of  this  incessant  agitation,  and 
that  they  had  all  preferred  our  present  incum- 
bent to  any  other.  I  stated  that  I  voted  with 
that  belief,  and  that  the  remark  made  by  the 
gentleman  from  Clay  that  our  action  looked 
like  repudiation  of  the  present  Governor,  were 
untrue.  I  made  no  attack  on  the  gentleman 
from  Clinton  at  all.  I  never  can  expect  to  un- 
dertake such  a  job  as  that. 

The  resolution  was  then  unanimously  adopt- 
ed. 

SOLDIERS    TO    VOTE. 

The  bill  to  enable  soldiers  to  vote  was  taken 
up. 

The  motion  to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which 
the  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Smith  of  Linn, 
(allowing  only  such  citizens  of  Missouri  as  are 
soldiers  in  this  State  to  vote,)  was  rejected, 
was  reconsidered. 

Mr.  EITZEN  said  :  Mr.  President,  the  bill  now 
before  the  Convention  is  one  in  which  those 
whom  I  have  the  honor,  in  part,  to  represent 
on  this  floor  are  particularly  interested.  It 
may  not  be  generally  known  that  there  are 
several  thousand  United  States  volunteers,  as 
distinguished  from  those  raised  particularly  for 
the  defence  of  this  State,  still  s'ationed  in  Mis- 
souri. Among  these,  there  is  one  regiment, 
viz.,  the  Fourth  Missouri,  which  was  princi- 
pally recruited  in  Gasconade  county,  and  whose 
headquarters,  now  at  Franklin,  were,  until  re- 
cently at  Hermann.  These  troops  are  now 
guarding  the  bridges  on  the  Pacific  railroad, 
as  well  as  those  on  the  Southwest  Branch. 

It  would  be  grossly  unjust,  to  these  gallant 
men,  who  have  taken  up  arms  in  this  State  in 
defence  of  our  flag,  to  deprive  them — because 


of  their  gallantry — of  thdr  votes.  I  hope  the 
ordinance,  as  amended,  and  now  under  consid- 
eration, will  not  pass  ;  but  I  desire  very  much 
the  adoption  of  the  original  ordinance,  so  that 
all  loyal  men,  as  well  in  the  army  as  out  of  it, 
may  be  enabled  to  express  their  choice  for  the 
several  candidates  at  the  coming  election. 

Mr.  ORR.  Yesterday  evening,  this  amend- 
ment was  voted  down,  and  being  somewhat  ex- 
cited, I  spoke  about  the  radicalism  that  would 
allow  men  in  New  Orleans  te  vote  for  a  rep- 
resentative in  Cole  county.  I  desire  to  say 
that  I  did  not  thereby  mean  to  impugn  the  mo- 
tives of  gentlemen,  nor  did  I  mean  thereby  to 
say  that  Missourians  in  the  military  service, 
quartered  in  this  State,  should  be  deprived  of 
voting.  I  referred  only  to  men  out  of  the 
State.  I  did  not  think  men  in  distant  places — 
in  New  Orleans — could  discreetly  vote  for  a 
person  to  represent  Cole  county.  I  am  in  fa- 
vor of  allowing  soldiers  to  vote  who  are  citi- 
zens of  this  State,  and  who  are  still  in  the 
State. 

Mr.  ISBELL.  I  cannot  see  injustice  done  to 
the  brave  men  of  my  county  —  the  Twenty- 
sixth  Missouri — who  assisted  in  the  capture  of 
Island  Number  Ten,  and  were  Avith  General 
Pope  throughout.  To  deprive  these  men  of 
the  right  to  vote  would  be  doing  them  great  in- 
justice, and  I  am  bound  to  raise  my  voice  in. 
condemnation  of  any  act  of  that  kind. 

Mr.  SHACKELI-ORD  of  Howard.  The  action 
of  this  Convention  yesterday,  in  adopting  the 
ordinance  bringing  on  the  election  for  a  Legis- 
lature, has  called  forth  this  ordinance.  Sir,  it 
must  be  apparent  to  every  candid  inquirer,  and 
every  patriotic  heart  in  this  body,  that  the 
holding  of  an  election  in  the  midst  of  a  rebel- 
lion is  not  consistent  with  our  free  institutions. 
Therefore,  having  provided  for  an  election  for 
members  of  the  Legislature,  I  could  readily 
see,  and  I  foresaw,  an  apparent  necessity  would 
arise  for  the  gentleman  to  introduce  just  such 
an  ordinance  as  this.  On  its  face,  there  ap- 
pears an  inconsistency — that  men  who  are  to 
imperil  their  lives  for  th^ir  country  should  be 
prohibited  from  voting — and  it  was  to  avoid 
this  very  thing  that  I  raised  my  voice  of  warn- 
ing against  the  ordinance  of  yesterday,  be- 
cause I  foresaw  this  proposition  would  run  coun- 
ter to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  It 
seemed  unjust  that  these  men  should  be  de- 
prived of  the  right  to  vote ;  but,  notwithstand- 
ing, I  say  this  proposition  is  against  the  spirit 
and  letter  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 


217 


I,  sir,  am  not  accustomed  to  speak  on  sub- 
jects of  tliis  kind  before  deliberative  bodies.  I 
have  only  been  accustomed  to  practice  law  be- 
fore the  courts  of  my  county,  and  address 
judges  and  jurors  alone  ;  but  when  I  see  what 
I  consider  an  invasion  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  I  cannot  help  raising  my 
voice  against  a  violation  of  that  good  instru- 
ment. Now,  sir,  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimo- 
ny. The  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
article  2,  section  2,  provides  :  "  The  President 
*lwll  be  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army  and 
navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of 
the  several  States  when  called  into  the  actual 
service  of  the  United  States."  The  militia 
then,  sir,  when  called  into  the  active  service  of 
the  United  Sta'es,  are  part  and  parcel  of  the 
army  of  the  United  States,  and  subject  to  all 
the  rules  and  regulations  which  govern  it. 
Then,  sir,  we  are  asked  in  view  of  that,  to  al- 
low the  officers  and  soldiers  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States,  under  the  command  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  to  vote  at  an 
election  in  Missouri.  Now,  sir,  how  have  our 
fathers  attempted  to  guard  the  ballot-box,  es- 
pecially in  this  State  ?  I  appeal  to  you  to  go 
back  to  that  instrument  —  the  Constitution  of 
the  State  of  Missouri— adopted  by  men  of  pat- 
riotism, and  whose  integrity  never  can  be 
doubted.  They  have,  by  their  action,  distinct- 
ly announced  that  we  never  can  commingle  the 
sword  with  the  ballot-box,  because  it  is  danger- 
ous to  civil  liberty,  and  it  is  as  dangerous  to- 
day as  it  was  then ;  and  the  voice  of  warning 
comes  as  solemn  to-day  as  it  came  then.  That 
voice  is  this  :  "  That  no  soldier,  seaman,  or 
mariner,  in  the  regular  army  or  navy  of  the 
United  States  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  any 
election  in  this  State." 

Now,  sir,  gentlemen  may  say  that  there  is  a 
distinction  between  the  militia  called  into  ac- 
tive service  and  the  regular  army.  The  rules 
and  articles  of  war  know  no  distinction.  I  defy 
gentlemen  to  show  there  is  any  distinction. 
They  become  subject  to  all  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations of  the  regular  army,  and  are  under  the 
control  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  I  don't  care  whether  he  be  a  Missourian  or 
not,  if  he  is  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  he  ought  to  have,  while  in  that  ser- 
vice, no  part  or  parcel  in  administering  the 
civil  affairs  in  the  State  of  Missouri.  Not  only 
did  they  pass  that  provision,  but  our  fathers 
wanted  carefully  to  guard  it ;  and  what  did  they 
say  further  ?  In  the  22d  section  of  the  13th 
article  we  see  "  that  the  military  is,  and  in  all 


cases  and  at  all  times,  shall  be  in  strict  subor- 
dination to  the  civil  power."  Now,  sir,  tell 
me  that  when  a  man  has  enlisted  in  the  army 
of  the  United  States  he  can  go  to  the  polls, 
with  a  bayonet  in  his  hands,  and  have  a  voice 
in  the  election  of  civil  officers  !  No,  sir,  it  is 
not,  and  cannot  be  so  in  the  very  nature  of  the 
case.  We  must  keep  the  civil  and  military 
powers  separate,  or  the  last  vestige  of  civil  lib- 
erty is  gone.  And  these  men  who  have,  with 
such  unanimity  and  patriotism,  gone  forth  to 
defend  their  country  in  the  time  of  rebellion, 
have  assumed  the  duties  of  the  soldier  and 
laid  aside  the  rights  of  the  citizen,  and  they 
must  stick  to  the  one  and  abandon  the  other 
until  they  have  achieved  victory  by  the  sword, 
and  then  when  they  go  before  the  people  the 
people  will  give  them  all  honor.  They  ought 
not  to  desire  to  act  in  both  capacities,  because 
it  would  be  a  violation  of  this  sacred  instru- 
ment, which  we  have  all  sworn,  before  the  God 
of  Heaven,  that  we  will  support. 

I  felt  it  my  duty  to  make  these  remarks  be- 
cause I  consider  that  we  are  in  danger,  and  I 
fear  are  about  to  have  every  vestige  of  civil  lib- 
erty frittered  away.  I  shall  vote  against  every 
proposition  of  this  character. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  A  few  moments,  sir,  upon 
the  legal  aspect  of  the  question  now  presented. 
Inasmuch  as  the  gentleman  from  Howard  has 
sprung  that  question,  it  is  well  enough  that  we 
shall  understand  it.  Now,  sir,  if  there  is  any 
mode  by  which  the  citizen  soldiery  of  the 
State  can  be  allowed  to  cast  their  votes  at  the 
coming  election,  I  hold  it  is  the  solemn  duty  of 
this  Convention  to  provide  some  way  by  which 
it  can  be  done.  Why,  sir,  if  these  patriotic 
men  who  have  raised  their  arms  and  entered 
the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  of  this 
State,  in  order  to  protect  our  institutions,  are 
not  to  be  allowed  to  vote,  some  of  the  members 
of  this  Convention  would  be  excluded — some 
of  these  brave  and  patriotic  men  who  have  no- 
bly discharged  their  duty  to  their  country  in 
the  field,  and  who  have  also  discharged  their 
duties  to  their  constituents  upon  this  floor.  Be- 
sides them,  I  am  informed  we  have  some  four- 
teen thousand  in  the  State  service,  and  how 
many  in  the  United  States  service  I  am  not  in- 
formed. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  About  thirty  thou- 
sand. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  Now,  these  men  have  en- 
tered the  service  of  our  country  for  the  very 
purpose  of  preserving  our  institutions.  One 
of  these  institutions  is  the  elective  franchise. 


218 


Shall  it  be  said  that  because  these  men  entered 
the  service  for  the  protection  and  preservation 
of  this  institution  that,  therefore,  they  shall  be 
denied  the  right  to  exercise  the  privilege  of 
the  elective  franchise  ?  Why,  sir,  it  would  be 
gross,  palpable,  manifest  injustice.  Why,  I 
may  say,  we  are  indebted  to  their  voluntary 
bravery  for  the  very  privilege  which  we  now 
enjoy  of  sitting  in  deliberation  here  in  thie 
Convention.  I  hold,  therefore,  that,  as  an  act 
of  simple  justice  to  the  bravery  of  the  citizen 
soldiery  of  this  State,  that  if  there  is  any  mode 
to  be  devised  by  which  they  can  cast  their 
votes  we  should  provide  it. 

Now,  the  gentleman  has  said  that  this  ordi- 
nance is  in  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 
Sir,  he  has  failed  to  show  us  that  there  is  any- 
thing in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
prohibiting  our  soldiers  from  voting.  If  there 
was  anything  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  prohibiting  our  soldiers  from  voting,  I 
should  not,  as  a  matter  of  course,  advocate  it, 
believing  as  I  do  that  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  is  the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 
But  there  is  nothing  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States — not  one  word  or  one  letter  in 
that  instrument — prohibiting  the  passage  of 
this  ordinance.  Every  person  familiar  with 
the  Constitution  of  the  State  and  of  the  United 
States  knows  that  every  State  has  the  right  to 
define  the  qualification  of  its  own  voters.  This 
proposition,  sir,  will  not  be  controverted. 
Hence  there  is  nothing  in  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  prohibiting  the  passage  of 
this  ordinance. 

But  the  gentleman,  leaving  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  refers  us  to  the  10th  sec- 
tion of  the  3d  article  of  the  State  Constitution. 
Now,  sir,  I  hold,  in  the  first  place,  that  there  is 
nothing  in  the  article  read  prohibiting  the  vol- 
unteer soldiers  of  the  country,  or  the  militia  of 
the  State,  from  voting.  The  section  of  the  ar- 
ticle from  the  State  Constitution  quoted  by  the 
gentleman  from  Howard  prohibits  only  soldiers 
in  the  regular  army  and  navy  of  the  United 
States  from  voting.  Why,  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  regular  army  and  the  volunteer  ar- 
my is  well  known  and  established.  How  was 
it  in  the  war  with  Mexico  ?  The  volunteers 
from  this  State,  although  enlisted  in  the  United 
States  service,  were  permitted  to  vote  in  the 
election  of  that  period,  and  the  power  to  allow 
them  to  do  so  was  not  questioned  then,  and  I 


have  not  heard  of  it  being  questioned  since.  I 
hold  it  is  clear,  from  the  language  of  the  Con- 
stitution itself,  that  the  prohibition  only  ap- 
plies to  those  enlisted  in  the  regular  army  of 
the  United  States — that  means  the  regular 
standing  army,  not  the  volunteer  force  that 
that  may  be  called  into  service  to  meet  such  an 
extraordinary  emergency  as  the  country  is  pass- 
ing through  now.  It  means,  then,  those  who 
are  in  the  regular  army,  and  it  seems  to  me 
the  proposition  is  too  plain  to  require  further 
argument ;  and  if  it  were  otherwise — if  there 
were  anything  in  the  State  Constitution  prohi- 
biting the  passage  of  this  ordinance  —  what 
then  ?  Why,  I  believe  it  has  been  generally 
conceded  by  legal  gentlemen  and  by  oth- 
ers, that  this  body  is  a  supra  constitutional 
body — that  it  is  within  the  power  of  this  body 
to  change,  modify  or  alter  the  Constitution  of 
this  State.  I  believe  the  truth  of  this  proposi- 
tion has  been  conclusively  established.  I  do 
not  know  whether  the  gentleman  from  How- 
ard participated  in  our  action  which  has  tended 
to  establish  the  truth  of  this  proposition,  but 
its  truth  has  been  most  conclusively  established, 
at  least  in  the  estimation  of  a  majority  of  the 
members  of  this  Convention.  I  repeat,  there- 
fore, if  there  is  anything  in  the  Constitution  of 
this  State  prohibiting  the  passage  of  this  ordi- 
nance, by  which  the  gallant  men  now  defend- 
ing the  State  in  which  we  live,  and  the  institu- 
tions  of  the  National  Government,  are  permit- 
ted to  vote, — if  there  were  anything  in  the 
Constitution  prohibiting  the  passage  of  such 
an  ordinance — it  is  in  the  power  of  this  Con- 
vention, and  it  would  be  our  right  and  duty  to 
brush  it  like  cobwebs  away.  I  think,  there- 
fore, there  is  no  force  in  the  objections  made 
by  the  gentleman  from  Howard. 

Another  objection,  he  urges,  is,  that  the  mili- 
tary shall  be  subordinate  to  the  civil  power. 
Grant  it.  But  we  propose  to  allow  those  who 
have  enlisted  in  the  armies  of  our  country  to 
erect,  or  at  least  aid  in  the  erection  of  the  civil 
power  of  the  State,  and  by  their  votes  they 
will  show  that  they  hold  themselves  subordi- 
nate to  the  civil  power.  I  do  not  think  it  is 
necessary  to  elaborate  that  point.  It  is  clear 
we  have  the  right  to  pass  this  ordinance,  and  I 
hold  it  is  our  duty  to  do  so  as  a  matter  of  jus- 
tice to  our  gallant,  brave  and  patriotic  citizen 
soldiery. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  to  2  p.  M. 


219 


AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

Met  at  2  P.  M. 

Mr.  CAYCK  presented  a  memorial  from  citi- 
zens of  Washington  county  in  relation  to  the 
revenue  of  that  county.  Referred  to  a  special 
committee. 

Mr.  SMITH  of  Linn.  I  desire  in  offering 
that  amendment  to  say  one  word  in  reference 
to  it.  Inasmuch  as  gentlemen  hare  spoken  in 
opposition  to  its  passage,  because  of  its  inten- 
tion to  disfranchise  a  class  of  our  fellow-citi- 
zens, I  propose,  sir,  briefly  to  give  the  reasons 
that  induced  me  to  offer  it.  It  was  with  no 
intention  of  depriving  a  single  citizen  of  any 
right  or  privilege  that  in  my  judgment  he 
would  desire  to  exercise,  nor  did  I  propose  to 
do  that  which  has  never  been  done  before. 
During  the  Mexican  war  thousands  of  our  citi- 
zens entered  the  United  States  service  as  now, 
and  were  absent  from  the  State  of  Missouri 
during  the  elections,  but  there  was  no  proposi- 
tion I  ever  heard  of  extending  to  them  the 
right  to  vote.  I  can  see  no  reason  now,  sir, 
why  they  should  vote  when  out  of  the  State 
any  more  than  they  should  vote  then.  I  am 
unable  to  see  that  the  citizen  jpldiery  to-day 
are  more  worthy  and  patriotic  than  they  were 
then.  I  presume  there  is  no  difference.  Another 
reason,  sir,  some  part  of  the  elections  that  will 
take  place  will  be  only  for  county  officers, 
Senators,  and  Representatives.  Those  men 
who  are  now  out  of  the  State  have  been  out 
for  some  two  or  three  months.  They  will 
have  hardly  any  opportunity  to  ascertain  any- 
thing in  regard  to  the  issues  and  the  personal 
qualifications  of  the  candidates.  You  know, 
sir,  that  it  is  the  custom  in  our  country  for  the 
candidates  for  office  to  define  their  positions 
before  the  people  on  various  public  matters  for 
some  five  or  six  weeks  previous  to  the  election, 
so  that  the  people  can  then  go  to  the  polls  and 
vote  understandingly.  But,  sir,  this  cannot  be 
done.  The  mass  of  the  soldiers  will  not  un- 
derstand anything  with  regard  to  the  issues  or 
the  differences  that  may  exist  between  the  can- 
didates, and  in  many  instances  they  will  be 
wholly  ignorant  of  their  qualifications.  For 
this  reason,  sir,  I  introduce  the  amendment. 
If  these  men  obtain  any  information  of  the 
candidates,  they  must  get  it  through  a  third 
person,  and  he  more  frequently  being  an  inter- 
ested party,  they  will  not,  therefore,  be  able  to 
vote  understandingly.  Now,  sir,  I  would  be 
as  far  from  denying  to  the  soldier  any  privi- 
lege he  ought  to  exercise  as  any  gentleman  on 
this  floor.  If  there  is  a  class  of  men  I  esteem 


and  whose  services  I  appreciate,  it  is  that  class 
of  men  that  I  propose  to  exclude  by  this  amend- 
ment. I  do  not  propose  to  exclude  those  who 
are  in  the  State  and  who  will  have,  at  least, 
more  means  to  understand  something  about 
the  candidates  and  the  issues ;  I  only  propose 
to  exclude  those  who  are  out  of  the  State  and 
who  will  have  no  means,  except  through  a 
third  person,  of  informing  themselves  with  ref- 
erence to  the  issues.  Sir,  I  have  some  little 
experience  with  reference  to  the  wishes  of 
soldiers  with  regard  to  exercising  the  elective 
franchise.  Last  winter  an  election  was  order- 
ed by  the  Governor  to  elect  a  Representative 
to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  At  that 
time  the  Twenty-third  Missouri  Volunteers, 
with  which  I  was  then  connected,  was  station- 
ed at  Chillicothe.  There  were  two  candidates 
for  Congress,  Mr.  Hall  and  Mr.  Hawkins.  It 
was  not  known  on  the  day  of  election  that  Mr. 
Hawkins  had  withdrawn  his  name.  Mr.  Hall 
visited  our  camp  a  few  days  before  the  election. 
Our  regiment  consisted  of  nine  hundred  men, 
most  of  whom  lived  in  Mr.  Hall's  district.  In 
addition  to  those  there  were  about  three  or 
four  hundred  State  Militia — or  six  months' 
men.  The  day  of  election  came  and  the  men 
were  informed  that  they  had  the  privilege  of 
casting  their  votes  if  they  desired.  Out  of  the 
nine  hundred  men  in  our  regiment,  most  of 
whom  resided  in  the  district,  there  were  but 
two  hundred  who  cast  their  votes,  and,  sir, 
every  vote  that  was  cast  at  that  precinct  was 
cast  for  Judge  Hall.  Well,  I  enquired  of  some 
the  reason  they  did  not  vote.  "  We  know 
but  little  about  it  and  we  care  but  little  about 
it ;  we  understand  they  are  both  Union  men, 
and  knowing  nothing  about  Mr.  Hawkins,  and 
but  little  about  Judge  Hall,  we  leave  it  to  those 
Union  men  who  know  better  than  we."  Con- 
sequently, they  declined  voting,  and  I  venture, 
sir,  that  there  are  but  few  soldiers  outside  of 
the  State  who  would  desire  to  cast  their  votes 
at  the  coming  election 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK  interrupted  with  a  question 
not  heard  by  the  reporter. 

Mr.  SMITH.  I  cannot  answer  the  question. 
I  am  aware  such  is  the  fact.  The  country  had 
learned,  I  presume,  that  Mr.  Hawkins  had 
withdrawn.  Another  reason  which  I  will  as- 
sign for  offering  the  amendment  is,  that  I  be- 
lieved it  was  the  desire  of  this  Convention  to 
act  consistently  with  itself.  I  remember,  at  the 
last  session  of  the  Convention  at  St.  Louis,  the 
Military  Bill  now  in  force,  and  which  was 
drafted  by  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs, 


220 


and  I  believe  the  gentleman  from  Daviess  was 

on  the  Committee 

Mr.  McFERRAN.    No. 

Mr.  SMITH.  I  mistake  then.  At  any  rate, 
a  provision  of  that  bill  was  this  :  "  All  com 
panies  of  soldiers  are  authorized  to  elect  their 
own  captains  and  lieutenants,  &c.,  and  the 
Governor  was  authorized  to  appoint  the  Colo- 
nel, Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  Major."  When 
the  bill  was  presented,  I  moved  to  strike  that 
provision  out  and  authorize  the  company  offi- 
cers to  elect  their  Colonel,  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
and  Major;  but  these  very  gentlemen,  some  of 
whom  I  know,  who  now  feel  so  solicitous  for 
the  exercise  of  the  franchise  on  the  part  of  the 
soldier,  then  voted  to  deprive  him  of  the  power 
and  privilege  of  selecting  his  immediate  com- 
manders— and  there  is  a  proposition  now  be- 
fore the  Convention  to  still  further  disfran- 
chise and  take  the  power  and  privilege  from 
the  private  of  voting  for  his  Captain  and  First 
and  Second  Lieutenants.  I  desired,  sir,  that 
the  soldier  should  select  his  own  officers  from 
Colonel  down  j  but  those  gentlemen  who  are 
now  so  anxious  to  have  them  vote  for  civil 
officers,  denied  them  that  privilege  and  voted 
down  my  proposition  by  an  overwhelming  ma- 
jority, and  placed  it  in  the  power  of  the  Gover- 
nor to  appoint  these  officers.  Sir,  I  cannot  see 
the  reason  why  gentlemen  will  deny  the  soldier 
the  right  of  electing  his  immediate  commander 
by  his  vote,  and  yet,  sir,  are  willing  that  he 
should  select  civil  officers  to  govern  him.  I 
do  not  think  the  soldiers  will  properly  appre- 
ciate this.  I  was  formerly  in  the  army  myself. 
It  is  true  I  was  appointed  to  a  position  in  my 
regiment,  but  the  Governor  appointed  me  be- 
cause the  men  first  selected  me. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  I  would  like  to  ask  the 
gentleman  if  he  believes  that  this  proposition 
will  impair  the  efficiency  of  the  service  1 

Mr.  SMITH-  I  am  only  complaining  of  the 
inconsistency  of  my  friends.  I  have  offered 
this  amendment,  sir,  because  I  consider  there 
are  especial  reasons  why  it  should  be  adopted, 
and  I  believe  it  will  be  appreciated  by  the  sol- 
diers ;  and  if  there  is  a  class  of  men  living  that 
has  my  confidence,  and  for  whom  I  would  will 
ingly  do  anything  that  was  reasonable  and 
what  they  might  desire,  it  is  the  regiment  to 
which  I  belong.  That  regiment  is  included, 
and  will  be  excluded  from  the  ballot-box  by 
this  proposition  if  it  is  adopted.  The  Colonel 
of  that  regiment  left  here  to-day.  I  consulted 
him  with  reference  to  this  matter,  and  he  said 
he  regarded  an  election  in  the  army  as  a  farce 


said  it  would  open  the  door  to  fraud,  and  he 
mew  the  soldiers  would  not  desire  the  privi- 
ege  of  voting.  I  am  satisfied  he  was  right 
rom  my  experience  in  this  matter. 

Mr.  SHANKLIN.  If  I  understand  the  gentle- 
man's speech,  he  is  opposed  to  the  whole  bill. 

Mr.  SMITH  of  Linn.  I  was  advocating  my 
amendment. 

Mr.  SHANKLIN.  The  argument  of  the  gen- 
leman  was  in  favor  of  his  amendment,  but  was 
against  the  whole  bill.  One  of  the  reasons  the 
gentleman  urges  why  we  should  adopt  his 
amendment,  is  the  want  of  facilities  for  com- 
municating with  the  soldiers.  Now,  I  appeal 
o  gentlemen  from  my  section  of  the  country, 
whether  it  is  not  easier  to  communicate  with 
Shiloh  than  with  Springfield,  and  whether  our 
•acilities  for  ascertaining  the  condition  of  the 
troops  in  Tennessee  are  not  better  than  those 
of  South-west  Missouri.  If  I  was  going  to 
communicate  with  the  troops  at  either  place,  I 
could  reach  Corinth  much  easier  than  Spring- 
field. I  cannot  see  any  good  reason  for  ex- 
luding  one  class  and  including  another.  Now 
[  call  to  mind  a  regiment  that  fought  at  the 
battle  of  Shiloh.  Nearly  one-fourth  of  their 
number  were  lulled  on  the  field,  a  large  num- 
ber were  taken  prisoners,  and  the  remainder 
were  transferred  to  Alton  as  a  guard.  They 
were  all  from  Missouri.  Now  the  gentleman's 
amendment  would  exclude  these  men  who  are 
quartered  just  outside  the  State.  The  regiment 
to  which  my  friend  (Mr.  Jackson)  belongs  has 
been  ordered  to  South-west  Missouri.  Suppose 
that  on  the  first  Monday  in  August  his  regi- 
ment may  be  just  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
State.  They  would  not  of  course  be  permitted 
to  vote.  Now,  I  can  see  no  reason  for  this  dif- 
ference. One  argument  urged  by  the  gentle- 
man was,  the  soldiers  would  pay  no  attention 
to  voting.  Well,  it  can  do  no  harm  to  give 
them  the  privilege.  Now  the  gentleman  alludes 
to  the  election  at  Chillicothe.  Now  I  knew 
that  Mr.  Hawkins  had  withdrawn  before  the 
day  of  election,  but  whether  the  soldiers  were 
aware  of  it  I  do  not  know,  although  I  think  it 
is  probable  they  did.  The  gentleman  talks 
about  consistency.  Well,  as  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned, that  does  not  apply  to  me,  because  I 
have  made  no  record.  I  think,  however,  if  gen- 
tlemen would  endeavor  to  do  what  is  right 
without  regard  to  a  record,  it  would  be  much 
better. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  I  rise,  sir,  simply  to  a 
personal  explanation.  The  gentleman  embraced 
me  in  the  charge  of  inconsistency,  and  he  tells 


221 


the  Convention  that  I  voted  to  take  from  the 
privates  the  right  to  elect  their  field  officers, 
and  now  he  says  that  at  this  election  we  pro- 
pose to  let  the  soldiers  vote  for  civil  officers.  I 
did  it,  sir,  and  I  did  it  as  an  act  of  justice  to  the 
men,  as  an  act  of  propriety,  and  not  because  I 
thought  I  was  robbing  them  of  any  rights,  but 
because  I  thought  I  was  giving  them  greater 
rights.  I  know  in  the  regiment  to  which  the 
gentleman  belonged  there  was  great  discussion 
as  to  who  should  be  Major,  and  the  minority 
of  the  regiment  were  dissatisfied.  Now  the 
Governor  appoints  only  these  officers,  and  in 
this  way  there  are  no  dissatisfied  minorities. 
Now  it  seems  to  me  gentlemen  distrust  the 
patriotism  of  the  army.  They  seem  to  think 
that  men  out  of  the  camp  are  able  to  vote  and 
elect  civil  officers,  but  that  in  the  army  they 
have  not  enough  discretion  to  enable  them  to 
do  this.  I  think  that  is  wholly  wrong.  I  be- 
lieve the  patriotism  of  this  State  is  in  its 
army.  I  believe  one-half  the  Union  men  in 
the  State  are  in  the  camp,  and  I  think  it  is 
right  to  trust  them  in  the  exercise  of  the  elec- 
tive franchise,  especially  considering  that  we 
have  secession  votes  in  our  State.  In  regard 
to  the  election  of  Judge  Hall,  it  is  a  fact  that 
the  men  voted  unanimously  for  him,  and  I 
know  it  is  a  fact  also,  that  the  people  voted  for 
him  unanimously  everywhere.  As  to  the 
smallness  of  the  vote,  the  people  took  it  for 
granted  that  the  judge  would  be  elected  any- 
how. So  it  shows  that  the  soldiers  in  the  camp 
were  affected  as  other  men  were  out.  One 
great  argument  that  I  am  anxious  to  impress 
upon  the  army  is,  that  they  are  citizens  as  well 
as  soldiers.  Sir,  the  greatest  danger  to-day  to 
the  American  Republic  springs  from  the  fact, 
that  our  soldiers,  being  constantly  in  camp  and 
separated  from  social  relations,  will  cease  to 
feel  as  citizens.  The  moment  the  soldier  feels 
he  is  not  a  citizen,  that  moment  I  shall  expect 
to  see  a  military  despotism,  and  I  believe  the 
best  Avay  to  avoid  it  is  to  allow  the  right  of 
suffrage  to  every  soldier  in  the  Union.  Let 
him  feel  he  is  not  forgotten  at  home.  Let  his 
heart  be  cheered  by  the  thought  that,  although 
he  is  battling  for  his  country  in  distant  lands, 
that  we  have  extended  to  him  the  same  right 
of  suffrage  as  when  he  was  at  his  own  hearth- 
stone. In  that  way  we  will  give  the  soldiers  to 
understand  that  they  are  still  citizens,  and  we 
will  remove  from  ourselves  the  greatest  danger 
we  have  to  dread  at  this  time,  that  of  making 
the  soldier's  interest  different  from  the  citi- 
zen's. 


Mr.  SMITH  of  Linn.  I  have  no  objection  at 
all  to  the  gentleman's  making  a  pretty  speech 
eulogizing  the  soldiers.  He  may  say  all  the 
pretty  things  he  sees  proper,  but  I  do  object  to 
his  putting  me  in  a  false  position,  or  putting 
words  into  my  mouth  that  I  never  uttered.  To 
say,  sir,  that  by  my  statement  and  argument  I 
distrusted  the  patriotism  of  the  soldiers,  is  a 
thing  I  never  intended  to  say,  and  I  am  satis- 
fied nothing  I  said  will  justify  such  a  conclu- 
sion. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  If  I  made  the  impression 
on  the  gentleman's  mind  that  I  charged  him 
with  anything  of  that  sort,  I  wish  to  disclaim 
it.  I  merely  said  I  thought  such  was  the  re. 
suit  of  the  argument. 

Mr.  SMITH.  I  cannot  come  to  any  such 
conclusion.  There  is  a  law  on  the  statute 
book,  that  has  existed  since  the  State  was  or- 
ganized, in  reference  to  voting.  No  man  has 
been  permitted  since  the  State  was  organized 
to  cast  a  vote  out  of  the  State  for  any  person 
in  the  State.  His  locality  has  been  prescribed 
to  a  county  or  town  in  the  State.  I  have  not 
proposed  to  exclude  those  who  are  in  the  State, 
but  I  desire  to  adhere  as  closely  as  possible  to 
the  usages  of  our  fathers.  If  the  gentleman's 
argument  is  true,  I  ask  why  the  sympathies  of 
the  people  have  not  been  aroused  before  now 
in  favor  of  soldiers  in  the  regular  army.  Since 
the  State  was  organized  they  have  been  pro- 
hibited from  voting,  and  if  it  is  necessary  to 
remind  them  they  are  citizens,  why  has  it  not 
been  done  ?  I  see  no  reason  for  this  radical 
change  and  I  am  opposed  to  it. 

Mr.  JACKSON.  I  wish  to  say  a  few  words 
because  I  appreciate  my  worthy  and  distin- 
guished colleague  very  highly,  and  we  have 
got  along  very  well  together  in  this  Conven- 
tion. But  I  would  remind  my  distinguished 
colleague  that  this  regiment  in  which  I  hold  a 
commission  was  recruited  last  winter,  and  that 
the  major  part  of  that  regiment  knew  who 
their  officers  were  to  be.  That  was  the  under- 
standing when  we  were  called  into  service.  I 
admit,  sir,  I  hold  my  appointment  in  that  regi- 
ment from  the  Executive  of  the  State,  and  I 
am  proud  of  it.  I  do  not  know  whether  the 
regiment  endorsed  me  or  not.  I  have  had  no 
intimation  that  they  do  not.  My  worthy  col- 
league holds  his  position  by  appointment,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  it  is  agreeable  both  to  him 
and  to  his  men.  I  believe  I  am  willing  to  pair 
off  with  him  by  saying,  that  he  who  lives  in  a 
glass  house  better  not  throw  stones. 

The  vote  was  taken  on  the  amendment  of 


222 


Mr.  SMITH,  and  resulted,  yeas  27,  nays  34.  So 
the  amendment  was  lost. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE  offered  an  amendment, 
changing  "commander"  to  commanding  officer, 
and  instead  of  the  first  day  of  August,  "  the 
day  of  the  next  general  election." 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

The  ayes  and  nays  were  then  demanded  on 
the  first  section  and  it  was  adopted,  yeas  42, 
nays  20. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  (In  explanation.)  As  we 
are  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  either  permitting 
or  not  permitting  soldiers,  in  or  out  of  the  State, 
to  vote,  I  must  vote  aye.  I  cannot  consent  that 
none  should  vote. 

The  other  sections  of  the  bill  up  to  the  thir- 
teenth were  adopted  without  discussion. 

The  thirteenth  section  was  taken  up. 

Mr.  DUNN.  Having  voted  thus  far  against 
all  amendments  that  were  calculated  in  their 
nature  to  embarrass  the  ordinance,  and  having 
voted  for  each  section  as  far  as  we  have  pro- 
ceeded, I  think  I  am  entitled  to  be  considered 
as  a  friend  of  the  bill,  for  I  expect  to  vote  for 
the  final  passage  of  the  ordinance.  I  therefore, 
as  a  friend  of  the  bill,  call  upon  the  members 
of  the  Convention,  and  friends  of  the  bill 
especially,  to  assist  me  in  voting  for  (he  rejec- 
tion of  the  section  now  under  consideration. 
My  position  in  regard  to  it  can  best  be  illus- 
trated by  what  was  said  of  an  old  friend  of 
mine  who  was  somewhat  noted  for  his  hos- 
pitality, and  who,  when  his  friends  came  to 
see  him,  was  in  the  habit  of  treating  them  with 
something  that  he  called  good  liquor.  This  old 
friend,  on  such  occasions,  invariably  took  the 
first  drink,  and  when  he  was  called  onto  assign 
the  reason  for  such  singular  conduct,  he  said 
he  did  it  for  the  purpose  of  showing  to  his 
guests  that  the  liquor  was  not  poison. 

Now,  let  us  make  no  distinction.  Let,  every 
voter,  as  far  as  this  matter  is  concerned,  be 
placed  on  the  same  footing,  and  let  soldiers  be 
required  to  take  the  oath  as  well  as  civilians. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  Instead  of  striking 
out  the  whole  section,  I  move  to  strike  out  the 
word  "not." 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  hope  the  amendment  will 
not  prevail.  I  see  no  reason  for  requiring  sol- 
diers to  take  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Con- 
vention. The  presumption  is,  that  as  they 
have  taken  upon  themselves  the  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  soldiers  in  behalf  of  the  Union, 
their  loyalty  cannot  be  questioned.  I  hear  the 
question  asked  around  me  by  gentlemen  whose 
loyalty  is  unquestioned :  "  How  does  it  happen 


the  soldiers  are  better  than  lam?"  I  would 
say  to  gentlemen  they  are  not  any  better,  but, 
sirs,  they  are  in  different  circumstances  and 
engaged  in  different  avocations.  They  are  not 
mixed  up,  as  the  people  of  the  State  are,  with 
a  disloyal  element.  Among  the  people  of  the 
State  we  cannot  discriminate  between  the  loyal 
and  disloyal,  but  with  the  soldiers  it  is  different. 
There  is  no  disloyal  element  among  the  sol- 
diers. 

Mr.  SHACKELFORD  of  Howard.  I  \vould 
ask  the  gentleman  whether  he  has  not  in  his 
regiment,  and  to  his  own  knowledge,  a  number 
of  men  who  are  returned  soldiers  from  Price's 
army? 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  Not  that  I  know  of. 
Again,  sir,  this  amendment  is  wholly  unneces- 
sary. It  is  placing  the  soldiers  on  precisely 
the  same  footing,  as  far  as  their  loyalty  is 
concerned,  with  the  men  that  went  to  Price's 
army  and  raised  their  arms  against  the  Govern- 
ment. There  is  no  reason  why  the  loyal  soldier, 
who  is  defending  his  country  and  risking  his 
life  in  its  defence,  should  be  required  to  take 
an  oath  of  this  sort,  and  I  am  entirely  opposed 
to  it. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  I  cannot  under- 
stand why  one  oath  should  be  prescribed  to  the 
citizen  and  another  to  the  soldier.  At  St. 
Joseph'  we  have,  perhaps,  a  thousand  soldiers 
who  will  be  present  at  our  election;  and  I  do 
not  see  why  General  Loan,  as  a  soldier,  shall 
not  be  required  to  take  the  same  oath  which  I 
and  the  rest  of  the  citizens  will  have  to  take. 
Let  us  treat  soldiers  just  as  we  do  citizens,  and 
I  will  venture  to  say  no  soldier  in  the  service 
will  raise  his  voice  against  it. 

Mr.  GRAVELLY.  I  endorse  what  the  gentle- 
man from  Buchanan  has  said.  As  far  as  my 
soldiers  are  concerned  they  would  be  glad  to 
take  the  oath. 

Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis.  I  think  we  had 
better  let  these  soldiers  take  the  oath.  We 
have  prescribed  it  for  the  preachers,  and  I 
think  the  soldiers  will  like  it. 

The  vote  was  taken  and  the  amendment  was 
agreed  to. 

The  remaining  sections  were  then  adopted, 
and  the  ordinance  was  passed. 

QUESTION    OF    PRIVILEGE. 

Mr.  STEWART.  Mr.  President,  on  yesterday 
an  exceedingly  choice  bouquet  was  placed  upon 
my  table  without  explanation.  Not  knowing 
the  object  of  its  being  placed  there,  some 
withered  flowers  in  the  vase  on  the  President's 
stand  were  removed,  and  the  bouquet  mentioned 


223 


put  in  their  place.  Since  that  time  I  have 
ascertained  that  it  was  presented  to  me  as  a 
personal  compliment  by  some  ladies  of  Jeffer- 
son City,  and  that  the  flowers  were  wreathed 
by  the  hands  of  those  whose  hearts  are  as 
patriotic,  loyal,  and  pure,  as  the  flowers  are 
delicate,  beautiful,  and  fragrant.  I  consider 
myself  highly  honored  by  the  rarepresen',  and 
return  the  fair  donors  my  most  heartfelt  thanks, 
together  with  ray  best  wishes  for  their  future 
prosperity  and  happiness. 

COLLECTING    THE    RtVENUE. 

The  ordinance  in  reference  to  assessing  and 
collecting  the  revenue  was  taken  up. 

Mr.  BROWN.  I  move  to  amend  the  second 
section  by  providing  that  the  counties  of 
Jackson,  Cass  and  Bates  shall  be  relieved  from 
the  payment  of  the  taxes  of  1860-1-2.  In 
introducing  my  amendment  I  wish  to  be  under- 
stood that  under  no  ordinary  circumstances 
would  I  ask  special  legislation  for  these  coun- 
ties, but,  sir,  these  are  not  ordinary  times  with 
these  counties.  If  I  could  impress  upon  this 
Convention  the  facts  as  to  how  these  people 
have  suffered,  I  believe  every  member  here 
would  be  inclined  to  throw  around  them  the 
mantle  of  charity.  Until  within  twelve  months 
they  have  been  as  independent  as  any  people  in 
the  State,  but  within  the  few  months  past  they 
have  had  their  houses  pillaged  and  burned,  and 
they  have  been  robbed  of  everything — of  stock, 
provisions,  and  household  goods.  I  know  of 
people  who  have  been  even  robbed  of  almost 
every  article  of  clothing.  Citizens  have  been 
thrown  and  robbed  of  their  shoes  ;  and,  in  some 
cases,  the  unfinished  webs  have  been  cut  from 
the  widows'  looms,  and  the  artificial  teeth  hav 
been  taken  from  the  mouths  of  persons  for  the 
sake  of  the  gold  plating.  I  know  these  people 
are  in  such  a  distressed  condition  that  they  are 
unable  to  pay  their  taxes,  and  unless  they  get 
relief  from  this  body,  their  lands  will  inevitably 
have  to  be  sold  to  pay  their  taxes.  I  hope 
these  unfortunate  people  will  receive  the  favor 
able  consideration  of  this  body. 

Mr.  COMINGO  offered  a  substitute  exempting 
the  people  of  the  above  named  counties  from 
taxation  for  the  years  1861-2,  and  providing 
for  the  taxation  of  non-residents. 

Mr.  OBR  moved  to  except  from  taxation 
nearly  all  the  counties  in  southwest  Missouri 
but  was  declared  out  of  order. 

Mr.  COMINGO.     Now,  sir,  as  I  stated  to  th 
Convention  the  other  day,  this  looks  like  an 
extraordinary  proposition,  but  I  have  statec 
what  is  now  the  condition  of  the  people  of  thes 


ounties,  and  I  think  every  member  of  this 
Convention  must  admit  that  they  are  deserving 
f  aid  at  our  hands.  I  suppose  every  man  in 
hose  counties  has  suffered.  Now,  it  is  a  part 
f  the  contract  that  where  people  pay  their 
axes  they  shall  receive  protection. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  Does  the  gentle- 
man in  his  proposition  relieve  the  secessionists 
who  have  been  the  cause  of  all  this? 

Mr.  COMINGO.     I  suppose  that  upon  legis- 

ating  upon  a  matter  of  this  land,  our  legislation 

must  fall  somewhat  like  the  rains  and  dews  of 

leaven,  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust.     I  cannot 

onceive  how  any  measure  of  relief  can  affect 

ne  class  of  men  without  affecting  all.     The 

Almighty  tells  us  that  the  sun  shines  upon  the 

good  and  the  evil.     It  is  evident  we  cannot 

draw  up   an   ordinance   of  this  sort  without 

laving  reference  to  the  disloyal  people  who 

lave  done  harm  to  this  country.    As  I  remarked 

he  other  day,  all  classes  in  that  community 

lave  suffered,  and  we  ask  this  relief  as  a  matter 

of  simple  justice,  and  I  trust  it  will  be  granted. 

Mr.  SHEELEY.  I  represent  in  part  a  district 
which  at  one  period  of  the  history  of  this  State 
was  second  in  wealth  to  none  outside  of  St. 
Louis.  I  live  in  a  county  in  that  district  which 
was  the  second  or  third  county  in  point  of 
revenue.  Now,  sir,  I  doubt  whether  any  county 
in  the  State  stands  in  a  much  worse  condition 
than  Jackson  at  this  time.  Our  negroes  have 
been  taken  off  to  Kansas  by  Jennison  and  Lane, 
the  great  brigands  of  the  western  border.  Our 
horses,  mules,  oxen,  wagons,  carriages,  and 
even  the  false  teeth  of  some  of  our  citizens, 
have  been  stolen  and  taken  away.  Our  district 
has  been  ruined  by  these  men.  In  the  county 
of  Cass  three  hundred  as  fine  dwellings  as  any 
county  could  boast  have  been  reduced  to  ashes, 
and  mills  and  houses  have  been  burned  indis- 
criminately all  through  Jackson,  Bates,  and 
Cass.  I  venture  to  say  there  is  no  citizen  in 
that  whole  district  who  has  riot  been  affected 
directly  or  indirectly  by  these  raids  of  Jennison 
and  Lane.  We  have  heretofore  paid  a  large 
amount  of  revenue  j  but  if  we  are  forced  to  pay 
our  revenue  for  1861,  we  cannot  do  it.  We 
have  not  even  got  the  means  to  pay  our  indi- 
vidual debts.  I  therefore  appeal  to  the  Con- 
vention to  relieve  us. 

Mr.  ORR  then  offered  an  amendment  to 
exempt  from  taxation  the  various  counties  in 
south-west  Missouri  that  have  suffered  from  the 
effects  of  the  war. 

Mr.  LEEPER  moved  to  exempt  certain  coun- 
ties in  south-east  Missouri. 


224 


Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  would  be  very  glad 
to  vote  for  this  amendment  if  I  could,  but  I 
cannot  do  it.  Gentlemen,  I  think,  will  see 
from  the  rapidity  with  which  members  rise 
one  after  another  and  propose  amendments, 
that  if  this  thing  continues  we  will  be  in  a 
condition  presently  in  which  the  State  will  have 
no  revenue  at  all.  The  people  of  the  whole 
State  have  suffered  terribly  in  all  their  pecuniary 
interests.  There  is  no  portion  of  the  State  in 
which  the  payment  of  the  taxes  will  not  be 
regarded  as  a  grievous  burden.  I  know  very 
well  the  people  whom  I  represent  here,  and 
who  have  been  comparatively  free  from  the 
distresses  immediately  resulting  from  this  war, 
still  have  suffered  immensely  5  and  that  many 
of  those  who  have  heretofore  lived  in  ease  and 
comfort,  have  been  in  great  distress  for  months 
past.  Now  I  do  not  ask  relief  for  them,  and 
yet  there  are  reasons  why,  if  relief  is  to  be 
given,  it  should  be  given  to  them.  But  I  do 
not  ask  it  for  them,  and  I  would  not  ask  it  for 
them,  especially  now.  I  know  it  would  be 
difficult  for  me  or  any  one  else  to  fully  estimate 
the  sufferings,  losses,  and  trials  that  have  been 
endured  by  the  people  on  the  western  and 
southern  borders  of  this  State.  I  have  no  idea 
that  any  one  who  has  not  lived  among  that 
people  can  realize  the  horrors  through  which 
they  have  passed  during  the  last  few  months. 
I  have  no  doubt  their  condition  is  deplorable, 
and  I  deeply  regret  it.  But  I  suggest,  if  we  go 
on  as  we  have  been  doing  it  will  be  impossible 
to  fix  the  lines  between  those  who  deserve 
relief  and  those  who  do  not.  In  a  time  of 
universal  pecuniary  distress  you  cannot  proper- 
ly pass  upon  such  a  measure  as  this.  If  you 
do,  you  will  have  no  revenue  at  all,  and  it  will 
be  impossible  to  carry  on  the  Government  of 
the  State.  Now,  I  say,  if  it  is  possible,  some 
relief  should  be  devised  for  these  people.  The 
Legislature  is  to  meet  next  winter ;  it  is  a  body 
far  better  fitted  to  deal  with  a  matter  of  this 
kind  than  we  are.  When  it  meets,  it  will  be 
able  to  fix  the  burden  of  taxation  ;  and  I  do  not 
believe  that  in  the  interval  between  this  time 
and  the  meeting  of  the  next  Legislature,  any 


evils  resulting  from  the  forced  collection  of 

taxes  will  fall  upon  our  fellow-citizens.    When 

the  Legislature  meets,  they  can  prevent  legal 

!  steps  being  taken  in  such  cases  as  have  been 

suggested  against  parties  who  are  not  able  to 

;  pay  their  taxes. 

The  State  must  have  a  certain  amount  of 
revenue.     We  have  a  large  State  debt,  and  the 
interest  on  that  has  not  been  paid  for  eighteen 
months.     Now,  then,  a  proposition  is  made  to 
relieve  the  people  of  certain  counties.     If  we 
I  relieve  those  counties  of  their  proportion  of  the 
tax,  just  in  that  proportion  we  increase  the 
burden  of  other  counties.     You  relieve  abso- 
lutely a  portion  and  impose  additional  burdens 
on  others.     Then,  again,  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  the  credit  of  the  State   should  be 
i  sustained  abroad.     I  imagine  that  our  securities 
j  will  cease  to  be  as  valuable,  even  as  they  are, 
when  those  who  are  interested  in  our  bonds 
discover  that,  as  we  begin  to  extricate  ourselves 
from  our  difficulties,  we  begin  to  diminish  the 
,  only  resource  we  have  for  the  payment  of  our 
|  debts.     Public    confidence  will  be    destroyed, 
j  and   the    State   will   be    disgraced   abroad.     I 
desire  as  much  as  any  man  to  see  relief  afforded 
j  in  all  cases  where  it  is  actually  necessary,  but 
j  I  suggest  that  the  Legislature  is  the  proper 
body  to  consider  this  matter ;  and  the  delay 
|  which  will  occur  between  this  time  and  the 
meeting  of  the  next  Legislature  will  not,  unless 
I  am  greatly  mistaken,  work  any  serious  harm. 
Mr.  MARVIN.     If  it  is  to  be  the  policy  of 
;  the  Convention  to  relieve  counties  in  this  way, 
I  shall  feel  under   obligations  to  put  in  the 
counties  composing  my  district.     Two  of  those 
counties  have  suffered  as  much  as  any  counties 
in  the  State,  and  the  county  seats  of  both  have 
been  burned  up.     Price's  army  was  stationed 
at  Osceola  two  months,  and  ate  out  nearly  the 
whole  county.     But  I  am  not  Vn  favor  of  af- 
fording relief  in  this  way.     My  plan  would  be 
to  allow  future  Legislatures  to  afford  relief. 
I  believe  all  meritorious  cases  would  be  reached 
in  this  way  much  better  than  by  the  plan  here 


The  Convention  then  adjourned. 


225 


ELEVENTH   DAY. 


JEFFERSON  CITY, 
Friday,  June  13,  1862. 

Met  at  9  A.  M. 

Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 

A  bill  appropriating  $12,000  for  the  pay  of 
members  and  officers  of  the  Convention  was 
passed. 

The  Committee  on  Finance,  to  whom  was 
referred  the  memorial  of  Mr.  Morrison,  ex- 
State  Treasurer,  reported  that  it  was  inexpedi- 
ent to  legislate. 

A  bill  appropriating  $50,000  in  defence  war- 
rants, for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers  of  Missouri,  was  passed. 

Mr..  Pomeroy  presented  resolutions  instruct- 
ing our  members  of  Congress  to  procure  the 
passage  of  a  law  to  reimburse  the  citizens  of 
this  State  whose  property  may  have  been  wan- 
tonly destroyed  by  United  States  troops. 

Referred  to  a  select  committee,  consisting  of 
Messrs.  Birch,  Dunn,  Pomeroy,  Marvin,  and 
Meyer. 

Mr.  Hall,  from  the  Committee  on  Constitu- 
tion, reported  a  bill  to  classify  the  members  of 
the  Senate  hereafter,  according  to  the  provis- 
ions of  the  Constitution,  which  was  passed. 

A  bill  to  repeal  an  act  to  separate  the  offices 
of  Sheriff  and  Collector  in  Washington  county, 
introduced  by  Mr.  Cayce,  was  defeated. 

The  bill  amending  the  Constitution  in  refer- 
ence to  the  time  of  holding  elections  was  re- 
ported back  from  the  committee,  with  an 
amendment  to  strike  out  the  third  Monday  in 
October  and  insert  the  Tuesday  next  after  the 
first  Monday  in  November. 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

The  bill  was  then  made  the  special  order  for 
3  o'clock. 

COLLECTION   OF   THE   REVENUE. 

The  bill  in  relation  to  Assessors  and  Collec- 
tors, and  for  the  payment  of  certain  accounts, 
was  taken  up. 

The  question  being  on  the  amendment  offer- 
ed by  Mr.  Orr  yesterday,  to  exempt  the  coun- 
ties in  the  Southwest  from  taxation, 

The  amendment  was  disagreed  to. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on 
agreeing  to  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gen- 
tleman from  Jackson,  (Mr.  Comingo). 

The  vote  was  taken  and  the  amendment  was 
lost. 

15 


Mr.  Johnson  moved  to  insert  after  the  word 
"  law,"  in  the  seventh  line,  the  words  "  for  the 
years  1861  and  1862,"  and  to  strike  out  all  af- 
ter the  word  "  taxed,"  in  the  seventh  line,  to 
the  word  "on,"  in  the  same  line. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  If  the  ordinance  is  to  be 
passed,  this  amendment  ought  to  be  passed  also. 
It  would  seem,  sir,  to  be  very  hard  to  assess  in 
those  counties  where  there  has  been  no  assess- 
ment, and  where  the  property  has  been  desroyed 
and  carried  off.  Now,  this  amendment  will 
simply  require  the  Assessors  to  assess  on  prop- 
erty that  the  persons  owned  on  the  first  day 
of  February,  1862.  We  know  very  well  that, 
in  some  counties  in  this  State,  the  people  have 
been  deprived  of  all  their  property  since  Feb- 
ruary 1,  1861. 

Mr.  ISBELL.  My  experience  in  assessing 
has  been  quite  extensive,  and  I  know  it  is  al- 
most impossible  to  get  at  property  in  that  way. 
I  think  we  had  better  say  all  property  owned 
at  the  time  of  the  assessment  shall  be  taxed, 
and  none  other. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  This  is  a  matter  of 
importance  to  the  whole  State  at  large,  and  I 
must  confess  I  am  not  able  to  understand  the 
subject  as  I  would  wish  to  before  I  vote.  Now, 
I  am  satisfied  from  what  has  been  said  that  we 
must  afford  relief  of  some  sort  to  some  por- 
tions of  the  State.  I  do  not  believe  it  is  possi- 
ble for'  the  people  of  the  Southwest,  of  Jack- 
son and  other  counties,  to  pay  the  tuxesassessed 
against  them,  and  yet  I  do  not  think  it  right 
to  say  they  shall  pay  no  taxes  at  all.  But  we 
ought  not  to  attempt  to  collect  from  them  what 
it  would  be  utterly  impossible  for  them  to  pay. 
Now,  if  we  undertake  to  pass  this  ordinance 
as  it  is,  you  will  impose  burdens  upon  these 
counties  that  they  cannot  pay,  and  you  will 
take  everything  they  have.  I  am  not  willing 
to  exempt  these  people,  and  yet  I  am  not  will- 
ing to  inflict  upon  them  such  a  burden  as  this. 

It  appears  to  me  we  had  better  refer  the 
whole  subject  to  the  Legislature,  where  it  will 
be  understood  better  than  we  can  understand 
it. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  It  seems  tome  a  cursory 
examination  of  this  ordinance  will  satisfy  ev- 
ery member  of  the  Convention  that  it  ought 
to  be  passed.  The  condition  of  the  revenue 
requires  that  we  should  adopt  some  measure 


226 


of  this  kind.  The  bill  is  not  intended  to  be 
permanent.  It  is  only  intended  to  apply  to  a 
temporary  emergency.  I  am  informed  by 
those  who  have  charge  of  the  financial  depart- 
ment of  the  State  that  unless  we  adopt  some 
measure  of  this  kind,  the  finances  of  the  State 
will  suffer  serious  detriment.  I  have  also  been 
informed  that  a  measure  of  this  kind,  if  adopted, 
will  save  to  the  State  many  thousands  of  dol- 
lars every  day.  If  it  is  not  adopted,  there  will 
be  a  corresponding  amount  lost  to  the  State. 
It  seems  to  me  the  objections  which  have  been 
urged  against  the  ordinance  have  already  been 
sufficiently  answered.  I  am  aware,  as  well  as 
every  member  of  the  Convention,  that  the 
counties  for  which  relief  is  sought  to  be  ob- 
tained have  suffered  extremely,  and  I  think 
thejr  will  be  proper  subjects  of  legislation  here- 
after, and  it  strikes  me,  Mr.  President,  that 
this  relief  can  be  as  well  obtained  by  applica- 
tion to  the  next  Legislature  as  it  can  be  obtain- 
ed now.  In  the  mean  time,  the  counties  alluded 
to  will  not  suffer  any  serious  inconvenience. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  would  like  very  much 
to  have  some  action  on  this  matter.  I  know, 
as  we  all  do,  that  the  State  revenue  is  in  a  de- 
plorable condition,  and  that  it  is  with  great  dif- 
ficulty that  any  has  been  collected.  In  some 
counties  none  has  been  collected  at  all.  I  sug- 
gest that  we  pass  this  amendment  which  has 
been  offered.  If  the  Convention  will  consider 
it,  they  will  pass  it  without  hesitating  at  all. 

I  ask  the  Convention  to  bear  in  mind  that 
this  ordinance  only  provides  for  such  counties 
as  the  revenue  was  not  assessed  in  for  the  years 
1861-2,  and  especially  for  the  year  IS9L.  The 
amendment  simply  provides  that  such  proper- 
ty only  as  the  individual  owned  on  the  first  day 
of  February,  1862,  shall  be  assessed.  Now, 
sir,  considering  this  to  apply  to  counties  where 
there  was  no  assessment  for  the  year  1861,  and 
that  it  only  assesses  such  property  as  a  man 
had  at  that  time,  I  would  suggest  that  unless 
the.  amendment  is  adopted  the  bill  itself  will  be 
rejected. 

Mr.  HALL.  I  move  to  lay  the  bill  on  the 
table. 

The  vote  was  taken. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK,  (in  explanation  of  his  vote). 
I  observe  that  by  striking  out  the  first  four 
sections  of  the  ordinance  we  can  accomplish 
'  all  that  is  desired.  The  remaining  sections 
•will  enable  the  State  to  receive  the  revenue 
which  is  now  lying  idle. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN,  (in  explanation).  I  shall 
vote  against  laying  on  the  table,  with  the  un- 


derstanding that  the  first  four  sections  will  be 
struck  out. 

The  vote  was  announced  as  follows :  Yeas 
18,  noes  47. 

So  the  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  was  lost. 

Mr.  JOHNSON.  I  withdraw  my  amendment, 
if  the  first  four  sections  are  withdrawn. 

Mr.  COMINGO.  I  have  not  withdrawn  my 
substitute. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  move  to  strike  out  the 
first  four  sections  of  the  ordinance. 

Mr.  WELCH.  The  amendment  offered  by 
the  gentleman  from  Daviess  will  result  to  the 
material  injury  of  the  finances  of  the  State. 
The  members  of  the  Convention  are  generally 
aware  that  in  very  man}''  counties  of  the  Stajte 
there  has  been  no  assessment  for  the  year  1861 
or  1862,  and  that  under  the  law  as  it  now  stands 
there  is  no  authority  in  the  Assessors  to  be 
elected  in  August  next  to  assess  the  property 
of  the  State  for  either  of  those  years,  and 
hence  Hie  assessments  for  those  two  years  must 
fail  entirely  if  the  amendment  offered  by  the 
gentleman  from  Daviess  prevails.  The  first 
four  sections  were  intended  to  embrace  that 
class  of  men  who  have,  for  reasons  satisfactory 
to  themselves,  removed  their  property  from 
the  State.  Millions  of  property  have  been 
removed  out  of  the  State  willingly  and  volun- 
tarily (not  stolen)  by  the  owners,  and  they 
should  be  taxed  for  it.  I  insist  that  if  this  prop- 
erty was  here  on  the  18th  day  of  February,  1861, 
the  owners  are  liable,  under  the  laws  of  the 
State,  to  be  taxed  for  it,  even  though  they  have, 
since  that  time,  voluntarily  removed  it  from 
the  State. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  desire  to  withdraw  the 
amendment  I  have  offered.  I  am  not  willing 
that  the  gentleman  shall  cast  the  odium  on  me 
of  refusing  to  tax  these  men  who  have  carried 
their  property  out  of  the  State. 

The  VICE  PRESIDENT.  If  there  is  no  objec- 
tion, the  gentleman  will  withdraw  his  amend- 
ment. 

Mr.  ORR.     I  object. 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  will  amend  my  amend- 
ment by  moving  to  strike  out  the  first  three 
sections. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  I  suggest  an  amendment. 
Add,  after  1861,  ''except  such  property  as 
may  have  been  stolen  from  the  owner  without 
his  consent." 

Mr.  WELCH.  I  have  no  objection  to  a  pro- 
position of  that  sort.  The  only  difficulty  that 
suggests  itself  is  that  there  is  no  mode  of  car- 
rying it  out. 


227 


Mr.  BIRCH.  I  move  to  amend  the  first  sec- 
tion by  adding,  "  The  Assessors  shall  be  re- 
quired to  make  remarks  on  their  returns  of  all 
cases  that  seem  to  dnuaml  relief."  This,  I 
think,  would  cover  the  whole  ground.  It  would 
not  give  the  Assessors  power  to  leave  out  any- 
thing, but  it  would  merely  instruct  them  to 
state  the  cases  that  demanded  relief,  and  after- 
wards they  could  give  such  information  to  the 
County  Courts. 

Mr.  McFERRAN.  I  will  restrict  my  amend- 
ment to  striking  out  the  first  two  sections. 

Tin-  rote  was  taken,  and  the  motion  to  strike 
out  the  first  and  second  sections  was  lost. 

-SAGE   FROM    THE   GOVERNOR. 

The  following  communication  from  the  Gov- 
ernor was  laid  before  the  Convention  : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : 

I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  a  subject 
which,  in  my  judgment,  ought  to  be  acted 
upon. 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  in  a 
message  sent  to  Congress  during  its  present 
on,  proposed  the  adoption  of  a  joint  reso- 
lution declaring  the  willingness  of  Congress  to 
furnish  aid  to  any  of  the  slave  States  that  may 
think  proper  to  adopt  a  measure  of  gradual 
emancipation.  The  language  of  the  resolution 
proposed  is  not  quoted,  but  such  is  its  sub- 
stance. 

The  resolution  was  adopted  by  both  Houses, 
and  so  becomes  an  offer  by  Congress.  If  we 
assume  that  it  will  be  carried  into  effect  by  ap- 
propriations to  be  made  by  a  future  Congress, 
it  is  a  proposition  of  unexampled  liberality,  and 
whatever  may  be  the  views  of  the  members  of 
the  Convention  upon  the  subject  of  emancipa- 
tion, the  proposition  calls  for  a  courteous  re- 
sponse. Courtesy  between  Governments  is  as 
much  required  as  between  individuals. 

This  State  has  received  from  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  great  attention  and 
kindn'ess.  Large  armies  have  been  maintained 
for  our  protection  against  invasion,  and  they 
have  battled  gallantly  in  our  defence.  Money 
has  been  given  us  by  the  Government  to  equip 
our  own  citizens  for  their  own  defence.  And 
now  a  considerable  number  of  troops  of  our 
own  people  are  armed  and  subsisted,  clothed 
and  paid  by  the  Government,  in  order  that  we 
may  protect  ourselves. 

Under  such  treatment  it  would  be  unbecom- 
ing to  pass  over  in  silent  indifference  a  propo- 
sition originating  with  the  President  -of  the 
United  States. 


Many  of  our  citizens,  and  possibly  the  au- 
thorities at  Washington,  have  expected  that 
the  Convention  would  take  some  action  upon 
an  ordinance  containing  a  scheme  of  gradual 
emancipation.  The  Convention  has  acted  upon 
an  ordinance  upon  this  subject  by  laying  it 
upon  the  table.  The  course  thus  adopted  is 
understood  to  dispose  of  the  subject,  according 
to  your  rules,  for  the  present  session,  and  there- 
fore it  is  not  now  intended  to  propose  to  you  to 
reopen  and  reconsider  the  subject.  But  this 
action  of  the  Convention  will,  without  doubt, 
be  so  misrepresented  as  to  excite  a  hostile  feel- 
ing to  the  State  among  all  those  in  authority 
who  favor  emancipation,  and  thus  injuriously 
affect  the  interests  of  the  State.  As  no  reason 
could  be  given  upon  the  motion  by  which  the 
ordinance  was  disposed  of,  the  result  may  be 
represented  as  rudely  discourteous  to  the  Pres- 
ident and  Congress.  The  manifest  propriety 
of  making  a  response  to  the  offer  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  Congress  affords  an  opportunity  of 
removing  all  grounds  for  such  an  unjust  and 
injurious  imputation. 

If,  in  the  understanding  of  the  Convention, 
it  was  not  contemplated  by  the  people  when 
electing  the  body,  that  it  should  ever  act  upon 
the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  State,  and  there- 
fore such  action  would  be  improper  ;  or  if  the 
Convention  believes  that  the  public  mind  is  so 
agitated  already  that  the  proposal  of  any  scheme 
of  emancipation  would  produce  dangerous  ex- 
citement, there  can  be  no  objection  to  assign- 
ing either  as  a  reason  for  abstaining  from  ac- 
tion upon  the  subject,  and  leaving  it  for  a  dif- 
ferent body  or  another  time.  When  the  reason 
is  thus  given,  misrepresentation  is  prevented, 
and  the  proposition  made  by  the  President  and 
Congress  is  so  answered  that  there  will  be  no 
appearance  of  a  design  to  treat  their  offer  with 
neglect. 

In  theory,  Conventions  are  understood  to 
possess  all  political  power,  but  in  actual  prac- 
tice they  confine  themselves  to  the  measures 
upon  which  the  people,  at  the  time  of  their 
election,  expected  them  to  act.  When  this 
Convention  was  chosen,  the  subject  before  the 
public  mind  was  the  relations  between  the 
State  and  the  General  Government.  Acting 
upon  this  subject,  the  Convention  deposed  a 
Governor  and  Legislature,  because  they  were 
trying  to  disturb  those  relations ;  militia  ordi- 
nances were  adopted,  because  a  military  force 
was  necessary  to  maintain  those  relations  ;  the 
offices  of  all  persons  in  office  who  refused  to 
take  an  oath  of  allegiance  were  vacated,  be- 


228 


cause  official  power  in  the  hands  of  disloyal 
persons  might  be  employed  to  disturb  such  re- 
lations ;  laws  were  vacated,  because  they  had 
been  passed  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  on  a 
collision  with  the  General  Government.  In 
fine,  the  action  of  the  Convention  has  been 
mainly  addressed  to  the  one  subject  which  it 
was  elected  to  consider,  and  those  which  natu- 
rally arose  out  of  it. 

When,  then,  it  is  asked  to  entertain  a  propo- 
sition which  is  to  effect  a  radical  change  in  the 
social  organization  of  the  State,  it  is  well  war- 
ranted in  declining  to  act  upon  the  proposition, 
on  the  ground  that  the  people,  in  choosing  the 
Convention,  never  intended  or  imagined  that 
the  body  would  undertake  any  social  revolu- 
tion wholly  unconnected  with  the  relations  be- 
tween the  State  and  the  General  Government. 
No  person  who  understands  the  principles  of 
our  Government  would  object  to  such  action, 
unless  it  be  one  who  is  willing  to  disregard  all 
principle  to  accomplish  a  desired  end. 

If  the  Convention,  assembled  from  all  parts 
of  the  State,  is  satisfied  that  in  the  present  con- 
dition of  the  public  mind  any  proposition  upon 
the  subject  of  emancipation  would  produce  ex- 
citement dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the  State, 
the  statement  of  that,  as  a  reason  for  declining 
to  act  upon  the  offer  of  the  Government,  ought 
to  satisfy  every  person  that  such  declension  is 
not  intended  as  any  disrespect  to  any  other  body 
or  officer. 

It  is  not  suggested  that  the  Convention  is  to 
make  any  apology  to  any  person ;  but  as  the 
proposition  made  by  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  is  one  which  is  entitled  to  a  re- 
spectful answer,  in  express  language,  it  would 
be  very  appropriate  to  adopt  a  resolution  as  a 
direct  response.  This  need  not  produce  any 
general  discussion,  as  it  need  not  involve  the 
merils  of  the  question  of  emancipation.  It 
would  only  be  an  act  of  courtesy  to  the  author- 
ities of  our  Government,  who  have  made  a 
proposition  which,  if  it  ever  be  carried  into  ef- 
fect, will  exhibit  the  greatest  liberality. 

It  is,  therefore,  submitted  to  the  Convention 
that  a  resolution  be  adopted  which  shall  be  a 
response  to  the  offer  made  by  the  President 
and  Congress.  H  R  GAMBLE> 

Mr.  HALL.    I  move  that  the  message  be  laid 
on  the  table,  and  200  copies  printed. 
The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

THE    REVENUE    BILL. 

The  consideration  of  the  revenue  bill  was 
resumed. 


Mr.  SHEELEY  offered  the  following  amend- 
ment to  the  first  section  :  "  It  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  county  courts  of  Cass,  Jackson  and  Bates 
to  cause  the  property  of  those  counties  to  be 
re-assessed  for  the  year  1861;  and  only  such 
property  as  may  have  been  owned  on  the  1st 
day  of  February,  1862,  and  such  as  shall  have 
been  voluntarily  removed  out  of  said  counties, 
shall  be  re-assessed ;  and  the  revenue  of  those 
counties  shall  be  based  on  the  list  of  re-assess- 
ment." 

There  are  two  counties  in  my  district  which 
have  been  assessed  for  the  year  1861,  and  the 
books  are  in  the  office  of  the  County  Clerk,  but 
a  large  amounr  of  that  property  has  been  stolen 
from  us.  If  a  gentleman  has  taken  his  property 
out  of  the  State  voluntarily,  I  do  not  propose  to 
relieve  him,  but  only  those  whose  property  has 
been  taken  from  them  without  their  consent. 

Mr.  ALLEN.  I  have  a  proposition  which  I 
think  will  meet  the  case  and  make  it  more 
general.  Add  to  the  first  section:  "and  that 
the  county  court  be  authorized,  as  a  court  of 
appeals,  to  investigate  the  tax  book;  and  on 
satisfactory  evidence  of  the  amount  of  property 
stolen,  the  said  amount  so  assessed  shall  be 
erased  from  the  tax  book." 

Mr.  SHEELEY.  That  will  not  reach  my  coun- 
ties, because  the  court  of  appeals  for  this  year 
is  closed.  .  * 

Mr.  MATSON.  I  move  to  strike  out  Jackson, 
Cass,  and  Bates,  and  let  it  apply  to  the  whole 
State. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  COMINGO  moved  to  amend  the  amend- 
ment by  striking  out  all  after  the  word  "shall," 
and  insert  "assess  all  property  owned  by  the 
tax-payers  of  these  counties  on  the  1st  day  of 
February,  1862,  and  on  such  assessments  shall 
be  levied  the  taxes  for  1862." 

Mr.  SHEELEY  moved  the  previous  question. 
The  motion  was  not  sustained,  and  the  further 
consideration  of  the  bill  under  the  rules  was 
postponed  until  to  morrow. 

ELECTIONS  IN  CERTAIN  COUNTIES. 

The  bill  in  relation  to  holding  elections  in 
certain  counties  was  taken  up. 

Mr.  SHACKELFORD  of  Howard  mored  to 
strike  out  the  first  five  sections.  The  motion 
was  lost. 

Mr.  BIRCH  moved  to  perfect  the  section  by 
inserting  in  the  fourth  line  of  the  first  section 
the  word  '" townships"  instead  of  "precincts." 
The  amendment  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  BIRCH  moved  to  further  amend  by  in- 


229 


sorting  after  the  word  "polls,"  in  the  fifth  line, 
the  words  "which  shall  be  at  the  same  plaiv, 
as  near  as  may  be,  as  the  elections  were  author- 
ized to  be  held  for  members  of  this  Convention." 
The  amendment  was  adopted. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS  moved  to  insert  after  the 
•word  "and,"  in  the  fourth  line,  the  words  "a 
majority  of."  The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  to  2  o'clock 

P.  M. 

AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE,  the  mes- 
sage of  the  Governor  was  referred  to  a  special 
committee  consisting  of  Messrs.  Breckinridge, 
Douglass,  Doniphan,  Orr,  and  Howell,  with 
instructions  to  report  such  response  as  may  be 
deemed  proper  in  reference  to  the  proposal  'of 
the  scheme  for  gradual  emancipation  by  Con- 
gress. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK  offered  the  following  : 

WIIKUEAS,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
upon  the  special  recommendation  of  the  Presi- 
dent, has  at  its  present  session  adopted  a  joint 
resolution  in  the  following  words,  to  wit : 

"Resolved,  That  the  United  States  ought  to 
co-operate  with  any  State  which  may  adopt  a 
gradual  abolishment  of  slavery,  giving  to  such 
State  aid  to  be  used  in  its  discretion  to  com- 
pensate for  the  inconvenience,  public  and 
private,  produced  by  such  change  of  system." 

And,  WHEREAS,  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  his  recent  order  revoking  the  pro- 
clamation made  by  General  Hunter,  has 
earnestly  invited  the  people  of  the  slave  States 
to  the  consideration  of  that  resolution ;  be  it, 
therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Con- 
vention, the  proposition  contained  in  that 
resolution  is  entitled,  as  well  from  its  exalted 
source  as  from  its  intrinsic  importance,  to  the 
deliberate  and  respectful  consideration  of  the 
people  of  Missouri. 

Resolved,  That  while  a  majority  of  this  Con- 
vention have  not  felt  authorized  to  take  action 
with  respect  to  the  grave  questions  presented 
by  said  resolution,  yet  this  body  desires  cor- 
dially to  recognize  the  generous  spirit  therein 
displayed,  as  well  as  the  eminent  patriotism  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States  in  his  effort 
to  put  down  this  rebellion  and  restore  peace  to 
this  State. 

THE   ELECTION    IN    CERTAIN   COUNTIES. 

The  bill  in  relation  to  the  election  in  certain 
counties  was  taken  up. 


Mr.  MCFERRAN  moved  to  amend  by  insert- 
ing :  "  That  the  judges  and  clerks  of  elections 
shall  be  subject  to  the  penalties  prescribed  by 
the  existing  laws." 

The  motion  was  agreed  to,  and  the  bill  was 
then  passed. 

.CHANGING    THE    TIME    OF   ELECTIONS. 

The  bill  changing  the  time  of  holding  the 
State  elections  was  taken  up. 

The  amendment  to  strike  out  the  words  •'  the 
third  Monday  in  October,"  and  insert  "the 
Tuesday  next  after  the  first  Monday  in  Novem-^ 
ber,"  was  agreed  to,  and  the  bill  was  then 
passed. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN  moved  to  reconsider  the  vote 
and  to  lay  that  motion  on  the  table.  The  mo- 
tion was  agreed  to. 

The  bill  in  relation  to  the  Register  of  Lands- 
was  called  up,  but  without  being  acted  upon, 
and  on  motion  of  Mr.  HOWELL,  was  laid  on  the 
table. 

The  bill  for  the  payment  of  Division  In- 
spectors was  taken  up. 

Mr.  BIUCH  moved  to  amend  the  first  section 
after  the  word  "  militia,"  in  the  third  line,  by 
inserting  "at  the  rate  of  three  dollars  per  day, 
together  with  personal  expenses,  during  the 
time  they  were  actually  employed  in  mustering 
troops  into  the  service  of  the  State. 

Mr.  HALL.  I  move  to  amend  the  amendment 
by  inserting  the  words  "raising  and,"  before 
the  word  "  mustering." 

The  amendment  to  the  amendment  was 
agreed  to,  and  the  amendment  was  then  agreed 
to. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS  moved  to  add  to  the  first  sec- 
tion as  follows :  "  Provided,  that  such  Inspectors 
were  not,  at  the  time  of  such  service,  receiving 
pay  otherwise  as  an  officer  of  the  militia." 

The  amendment  was  agreed  to,  and  the  first 
section,  as  amended,  was  passed. 

Mr.  DOUG»LASS  moved  to  amend  the  second 
section  by  inserting  after  the  word  "  service," 
the  words  "and  such  other  claims  growing  out 
of  the  service  of  the  State."  The  amendment 
was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  BIRCH  moved  to  amend  the  same  section 
by  adding  the  words  "and  the  commissioners 
so  appointed  shall  also  inquire  into  and  report 
upon  all  claims  for  military  service  purporting 
to  have  been  rendered  before  the  claimants 
were  regularly  organized  into  the  service  of  the 
State,  whether  for  want  of  an  Inspector  or 
otherwise  ;  and  such  sums  as  may  be  found  due 
to  such  claimants,  according  to  the  very  right  of 


230 


the  case,  shall  be  so  certified  to  the  Governor, 
and,  if  approved  by  him,  shall  be  paid  by  the 
paymaster  or  the  assistant  paymaster  of  the 
Missouri  State  Militia." 

The  amendment  was  adopted. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan,  in  order  to  make 
the  provisions  of  the  bill  correspond,  moved  to 
strike  out  the  Avord  "  Quartermaster,"  in  the 
second  line,  and  insert  the  word  "  Governor." 
Agreed  to. 

Mr.  VANBUSKIRK  moved  to  amend  by  in- 
serting after  the  word  "  militia,"  in  the  second 
section,  the  words  "  or  any  horses  lost  by  the 
soldiers  prior  to  their  having  been  appraised.* 
The  amendment  was  lost. 

The  second  section  was  then  agreed  to. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS  moved  to  amend  the  third 
section  by  striking  out  all  after  the  word 
"  distribution,"  in  the  sixth  line.  The  motion 
was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan  offered  a  new  section 
that  all  payments  shall  be  in  defence  warrants. 
Agreed  to. 

Mr.  McFERRA^  moved  to  add  a  new  section, 
as  follows  :  "  This  ordinance  shall  be  in  force 
from  and  after  its  passage,  and  may  be  repealed 
at  any  time  by  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
State." 

This  section  was  agreed  to,  and  the  bill  was 
then  passed. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan  offered  the  following : 

Resolved,  That  the  existence  of  this  Conven- 
tion shall  terminate  on  the  1st  day  of  March, 
1863 ;  and,  in  the  meantime,  shall  be  subject  to 
be  called  by  the  Governor,  if  in  his  opinion  the 
public  exigencies  shall  require. 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  will  adjourn 
at  11  o'clock  A.  M. 

Mr.  BRECKINIUDGE  offered  a  substitute  as 
follows : 

Resolved,  That  when  the  Convention  adjourns 
it  adjourn  to  the  4th  of  July,  1863,  when  it  shall, 
without  assembling,  stand  adjourned  sine  die, 
subject,  however,  to  the  call  of  the  Governor. 

Mr.  ORR  moved  to  lay  the  resolution  and 
substitute  on  the  table.     The  motion  was  lost. 
The  substitute  was  then  agreed  to. 

Mr.  Hendricks  introduced  a  bill  supplement- 
ary to  the  ordinance  defining  the  qualifications 
of  voters,  providing  that  the  ordinance  should 
cease  to  have  effect  after  1864. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS.  Mr.  President,  I  voted  for 
the  ordinance,  the  first  section  of  which  ex- 
cludes persons  who  have  taken  up  arms  against 
the  United  States  from  voting  at  elections, 
believing  when  I  did  so  that  a  limit  would  be 


prescribed  to  the  period  of  their  exclusion,  and 
proposed  an  additional  section  for  that  purpose. 
But  it  was  deemed  too  indefinite  as  to  time, 
and  was  rejected. 

Still  believing  that  for  prudential  considera- 
tions it  yet  should  be  done,  I  have  introduced 
this  supplementary  ordinance  for  consideration, 
to  limit  the  restriction  imposed  upon  voters  to 
the  last  day  of  July,  1864;  and  I  propose  very 
briefly  to  give  the  reasons  by  which  I  was 
induced  to  vote  for  the  adoption  of  the  ordi- 
nance, and  also  my  reasons  for  proposing  to 
limit  the  restriction  so  that  it  shall  continue  no 
longer  than  the  reason  for  it  exists,  by  showing 
their  compatibility  with  the  powers  and  duties 
of  the  Convention,  as  indicated  by  the  preamble 
to  the  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  calling  the 
Convention  and  the  specific  provisions  con- 
tained in  the  body  of  the  Act. 

In  the  humble  part  that  I  have  taken  in  the 
deliberations  and  proceedings  of  this  body,  I 
have  always  had  an  eye  to  the  object  and 
purposes  for  which  the  Convention  was  called 
— that  is,  to  consider  the  existing  relations 
between  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
the  people  and  Government  of  the  different 
States,  and  the  Government  and  people  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  and  adopt  such  measures  for 
vindicating  the  sovereignty  of  the  State  and 
the  protection  of  its  institutions,  as  shall  appear 
to  them  to  be  demanded.  Beyond  that  we  have 
no  right  to  go,  and  if  we  do  our  action  is  void. 

This  restriction,  like  every  other  measure  to 
restrain  persons  whose  minds  have  been  bent 
upon  severing  our  connection  with  the  Federal 
Union,  is  not  intended  as  a  punishment  for 
treason  ;  nor  do  I  suppose  any  gentleman  here 
entertains  any  such  motive.  The  laws  of  the 
land  have  fixed  the  punishment  for  treason, 
and  for  all  the  purposes  of  criminal  jurispru- 
dence that  is  sufficient.  Our  business  is  not  to 
punish  offenders  against  the  Government  and 
supremacy  of  the  laws,  but,  in  pursuance  of 
the  call  of  the  Convention,  to  adopt  such 
measures  to  vindicate  State  sovereignty  and 
protect  State  institutions  as  the  interest  and 
welfare  of  the  State  require. 

It  Avas  not  intended  to  inflict  a  punishment 
for  treason  when  the  Convention,  in  July,  de- 
posed the  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor, 
Secretary  of  State,  and  members  of  the  General 
Assembly,  and  in  October  adopted  measures 
for  the  deposition  of  all  rebellious  and  disloyal 
officers  in  the  State,  and  now  impose  restric- 
tions upon  persons  who  have  taken  up  arms 
against  the  United  States  in  the  exercise  of  the 


231 


elective  franchise.  But  it  was  the  action  of 
an  organized  community  of  free  and  sovereign 
people  in  Convention  assembled,  rising  up  in 
•  of  extreme  necessity  for  self-protection 
and  self-preservation,  in  accordance  with  the 
great  principle  of  popular  sovereignty  as  the 
-  of  our  peculiar  structure  of  government. 
It  was  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  defending 
itself  by  means  both  legitimate  and  indispensa- 
ble, and  therefore  within  the  scope  of  our 
jurisdiction. 

For  exemplification  I  lay  down  these  propo- 
sitions as  fundamental  truths : 

First.  That  the  true  relation  of  a  State  to 
the  United  States  is  that  of  inseparable  and 
perpetual  unity. 

Second.  That  this  unity  of  Government  was 
one  of  the  contemplated  objects  in  the  formation 
and  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  as  not 
only  proper,  but  absolutely  necessary  and  in- 
dispensable to  the  maintenance  and  protection 
of  the  State  sovereignty  and  State  institutions. 

Third.  That  every  citizen,  and  particularly 
every  officer  of  the  State,  is  bound  to  observe 
and  maintain  this  relation,  by  all  legitimate 
means,  with  unyielding  integrity. 

Whenever,  therefore,  the  executive,  legisla- 
tive and  judicial  functionaries  of  a  State 
become  to  be  unmindful  of  this  relation,  and 
their  sworn  obligations  10  observe  it,  and,  in 
disregard  to  the  will  of  the  people  whose  ser- 
vants they  are,  continue  to  use  their  official 
stations  as  engines  to  sever  the  connection  of 
the  State  with  the  United  States,  and  thereby 
endanger  the  sovereignty  and  institutions  of 
the  State  and  the  public  welfare,  the  people, 
who  hold  the  reins  of  government  in  their 
hands,  have  the  right  to  rise  up,  and,  in  the 
exercise  of  their  inherent  and  inalienable  sov- 
ereignty, to  depose  those  unfaithful  public 
servants  and  appoint  others  in  their  stead. 

I  need  not  here  repeat  what  has  been  said  a 
thousand  times,  and  which  everybody  now 
knows  to  be  true,  that  it  was  for  just  such 
conduct  as  I  have  mentioned  that  this  Conven- 
tion deposed  the  Governor,  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor, Secretary  of  State,  and  members  of  the 
General  Assembly,  in  July,  and  afterwards  in 
October  adopted  measures  for  the  deposition  of 
all  rebellious  and  disloyal  officers  in  the  State. 
It  was  not  to  punish  them,  but  to  prevent  them 
from  overthrowing  the  sovereignty  of  the  State 
and  its  institutions,  by  forcing  the  State  out  of 
the  Union,  against  the  will  of  the  people  and 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  by  means  of 
military  coercion.  In  accordance  with  the  laws 


of  self-protection  and  self-preservation,  the 
people  snatched  the  power  they  had  delegated 
to  unfaithful  men  out  of  their  hands  and  placed 
it  in  the  hands  of  more  faithful  ones. 

It  is  now  for  the  same  motives  and  for  the 
same  purposes  we  impose  restrictions  on  per- 
sons who,  by  taking  up  arms  against  the  United 
States,  manifest  their  co-operation  with  the 
public  enemy  of  the  Government,  and  desire  to 
overthrow  it.  Not  in  malice,  not  in  revenge, 
for  we  know  that  many  are  deluded  by  false- 
hood and  deception,  and  deserve  our  sympathy, 
but  for  the  preservation  and  perpetuation  of  our 
relations  with  the  United  States,  the  restoiation 
of  peace  and  harmony  among  ourselves,  and 
the  promotion  of  the  best  interests  and  highest 
happiness  of  humanity  on  earth. 

The  supremacy  of  the  Government  must  be 
vindicated  by  every  legitimate  means  in  our 
power.  Dear  as  I  value  the  elective  franchise 
as  one  of  the  inestimable  rights  of  an  American 
citizen,  it  must  be  restricted  for  adequate  cause 
when  the  safety  of  the  Government  demands  it- 
I  believe  the  necessity  for  the  restriction  exists 
at  the  present  time,  and  therefore  I  voted  for  it. 
During  the  present  rebellion  disloyal  men 
should  not  hold  office,  nor  disloyal  and  rebel- 
lious men  exercise  the  elective  franchise.  The 
safety  of  the  country  forbids  it. 

But  for  prudential  considerations  we  ought  to 
fix  a  limit  to  the  period  of  this  restriction. 
Whenever  the  necessity  for  it  ceases,  the 
restriction  should  be  removed.  To  perpetuate 
the  restriction  after  the  cause  for  it  no  longer 
exists,  would  be  an  infliction  of  punishment, 
which  is  not  our  province.  And  to  prove  to 
them  we  do  not  hate  them,  but  that  our  desire 
to  see  them  return  to  their  loyalty,  and  assume 
the  high  privileges  of  American  citizens,  and 
stand  with  us  side  by  side  as  they  once  did,  on 
terms  of  social  and  political  equality,  let  us 
remove  this  restriction  as  soon  as  possible 
consistent  with  safety,  and  invite  our  erring 
friends  to  meet  us  with  open  arms  and  fraternal 
hearts. 

A  different  sentiment  from  this  is  not,  in  my 
humble  opinion,  the  true  Union  sentiment. 
We  should  not  entertain,  but  disavow  the  dis- 
position to  hold  them  by  subjugation  and 
humiliation,  incompatible  with  the  character  of 
American  citizens. 

I  have  heard  some  gentlemen  express  the 
opinion  that  this  ordinance  is  an  ex  post  facto 
law.  If  so,  it  is  null  and  void,  for  we, have  no 
authority  to  adopt  measures  above  and  beyond 
such  as  are  necessary  to  carry  out  the  purposes 


232 


for  which  we  were  called.  The  authority  of 
the  General  Assembly  to  call  this  Convention 
or  to  prescribe  its  powers,  is  not  the  question. 
The  people,  who  are  sovereign,  responded  to 
the  call,  and  made  it  their  call,  and  therefore  it 
is  our  authority  and  the  only  authority  we  have 
for  everything  we  do.  To  punish  rebels  for 
treason  is  beyond  our  jurisdiction.  To  restrain 
them  in  the  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise 
as  a  necessity  for  the  vindication  of  State  sov- 
ereignty, and  for  no  other  purpose,  is  legitimate; 
but  to  perpetuate  the  restriction  beyond  the 
time  when  the  necessity  exists,  is  to  punish 
them  for  treason.  We  have  no  right  to  do  that. 
I  would  not  have  voted  for  the  ordinance  as  a 
measure  of  vindictiveness. 

A  resolution  for  the  payment  of  the  official 
reporter  was  introduced  and  adopted. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK  introduced  resolutions  in- 
structing the  Committee  on  Printing  to  pro- 
cure the  printing  of  the  ordinances  passed  by 
the  Convention  in  "pamphlet  form  ;  "  also  the 
printing  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention 
at  no  higher  rates  than  heretofore. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS  moved  to  amend  by  instruct- 
ing the  Committee  on  Printing  to  contract 
with  George  Knapp  &  Co.,  for  the  printing. 

Agreed  to  and   the   resolutions   were  then 


THE  COLLECTION  OP  THE  REVENUE. 

The  bill  relating  to  Assessors  and  Collectors, 
and  providing  for  the  payment  of  certain  ac- 
counts, was  again  taken  up  by  mutual  consent. 
The  first  section  was  finally  perfected  so  as 
to  read  as  follows  : 

SECTION  1.  That  in  all  counties  in  this 
State  -\vhere  the  Assessors  thereof  shall, 
from  any  cause,  have  failed  to  assess  the 
taxable  property  therein  for  the  years  1861 
and  1862,  or  either  of  them,  as  required  by 
law,  the  assessors  hereafter  appointed  shall, 
in  separate  books  to  be  prepared  as  other 
tax  books,  proceed  to  assess  all  property 
made  taxable  by  law,  and  which  was  owned 
by  the  person  to  be  taxed  on  the  first  day 
of  February,  1861,  and  on  the  first  day  of 
February,  1862,  and  return  the  same  to 
their  respective  County  Courts  in  the  same 
manner  and  at  the  same  time  as  now  re- 
quired by  law  for  the  tax  books  for  the  year 
1863,  and  the  Assessors  shall  be  required 
to  make  remarks  on  their  returns  in  all 
cases  which  seem  to  demand  relief. 

The  remaining  sections  were  then  agreed  to 
and  the  bill  was  then  passed. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  to  9  A.  M. 
to  morrow. 


TWELFTH   DAY. 


JEFFERSON  CITY, 
Saturday,  June  14,  1862. 
The  Convention  met  at  9  o'clock. 
Prayer  by  the  Chaplain. 

INSTRUCTIONS    TO    OUR    CONGRESSMEN. 

Mr.  POMEROY,  from  the  Select  Committee 
to  whom  was  referred  the  resolutions  in  rela- 
tion to  the  wanton  destruction  and  removal  of 
property  in  this  State  by  the  officers  and  sol- 
diers of  the  Federal  army,  reported  back  reso- 
lutions instructing  our  Congressmen  to  secure 
the  passage  of  a  bill  by  Congress  for  the  liqui- 
dation of  all  claims  of  the  citizens  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  that  may  be  found  to  have  origi- 
nated from  the  destruction  or  removal  of  pro- 
perty by  certain  officers  or  soldiers  of  the 


United  States,  or  by  persons  engaged  in  a  war 
against  the  United  States. 

The  resolutions  were  adopted. 

THE     GRADUAL    EMANCIPATION    PROPOSITION. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  SMITH  of  St.  Louis,  it  was 
resolved  that  no  member  should  speak  longer 
than  five  minutes. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE,  from  the  Select  Com- 
mittee to  which  was  referred  the  message  of 
the  Governor  recommending  some  action  in 
reference  to  the  proposition  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  concerning  Gradual  Eman- 
cipation, reported  that  the  Committee  had  been 
unable  to  agree,  but  that  a  majority  of  the 
Committee  had  agreed  to  report  the  following 
resolutions.  The  majority  of  the  Committee 


233 

consisted   of  Messrs.  Breekinridge,   Orr   and  been  presented  by  a  majority  of  the  committee, 

Douglass.  but  as  our  labors  were  rapidly  drawing  to  a 

II  In  not,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, '  close,  and  as  I  was  not  disposed  to  detain  the 

upon  (lie  special  recommendation  of  the  Presi- 1  Convention,  or  to  present  anything  here  that 


dent,  lias,  at  its  present  session,  adopted  a  joint 
resolution  in  the  following  words,  to  wit : 
Resoli-ed,  That  the  United  States  ought  to  co- 


might  probably  get  up  agitation  in  a  body 
which  in  my  opinion  has  no  jurisdiction  over 
this  matter,  I  have  not  prepared  any  minority 


operate  with  any  State  which  may  adopt  a  report,  or  presented  any  counter  resolutions, 
gradual  abolishment  of  slavery,  giving  to  such  '  and  will  content  myself  at  the  present  time 
Statr  aid.  to  be  used  in  its  discretion,  to  com-  with  simply  remarking  that  the  report  does 
pensate  for  the  inconveniences,  public  and  pri-  not  receive  my  concurrence. 


vate,  produced  by  such  change  of  system. 

Be  it  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Conven- 
tion the  proposition  contained  in  the  said  joint 


Mr.  STEWART.  I  offer  the  following  as  a 
substitute  : 

Whereas,  the  rebellion,  inaugurated  profes- 
sedly in  behalf  of  the  institution  of  slavery,  has 


resolution  adopted  by  Congress  and  approved '  greatly  diminished  the  number  and  value  of 
April  10,  A.  D.  1862,  is  entitled,  as  well  from  its  !  slaves  in  Missouri,  and  has  produced  a  condi- 


eminent  source  as  from  its  intrinsic  importance, 
to  deliberate  and  respectful  consideration. 

1!<  solved,  That  while  a  majority  of  this  Con- 
vention have  not  felt  authorized  to  take  action 


tion  of  things  tending  inevitably  to  the  virtual 
extinction  of  slavery  in  our  State  not  many 
years  hence,  by  putting  an  end  to  the  immi- 
gration of  slaveholders  with  their  slaves  within 


with  respect  to  the  grave  and  delicate  question  i  the  State,  and  by  rapidly  hastening  their  re- 
of  private  right  and  public  policy  presented  by  j  moval  previously  commenced  to  a  more  South- 


said  resolution,  yet  this  body  desires  to  recog- 
nize the  liberality  displayed  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  to  express  its 
profound  appreciation  thereof. 

Resolved,  That  the   Governor  be  and  he  is 


era  and  congenial  clime  ;  and, 

Whereas,  many  other  interests  of  our  State 
have  by  the  same  general  causes  been  brought 
into  a  languishing  condition,  and  the  revenue 
of  the  State  so  diminished  as  to  utterly  degrade 


hereby   requested   to  transmit  copies  of  the  j  its  finances,  and  to  threaten  to  engulf  us  in 
foregoing  resolutions  to  the  President  of  the  :  hopeless  bankruptcy  ;  and, 
United  States,  and  to  the  presiding  officers  of       Whereas,  as  a  measure  of  relief,  we  must  de- 
the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives. '  pend  in  a  great  degree  upon  immigration  and 
Mr.  DONIPHAN.  The  committee  met  yester-  the  introduction  of  capital,  and  the  various  in- 
day  and  again  last  night,  and  we  were  unable  dustrial  enterprises  that  shall  develop  the  vast 
to  agree.     The  resolution  offered  by  the  dis-  natural  resources  of  our  State ;  and, 
tinguished    gentleman    from    St.   Louis  (Mr.        Whereas,  our  only  hope  for  future  immigra- 
Hitchcock),  that  this  Convention  had  referred  tion  is  in  the  non-slaveholding  classes  of  this 
to  the   committee,  was  before  us;    I  availed  and  foreign  countries,  whose  prejudices  against 


myself  of  some  resolutions  prepared  by  a  very 
distinguished    member    of    this    Convention, 


the  institution  of  slavery  will  continue  in  a 
great  measure  to  cause  them  to  shun  this  State 


which  will  probably  be  laid  before  the  Conven-  while  they  have  doubts  of  its  ultimate  extinc- 


tion this  morning  and  which  I  prefer.  I  re- 
mained with  the  committee  from  7  until  11  last 
night,  and  we  could  not  agree.  This  morning 


tion ;  and, 

Whereas,  further,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  has  recommended  Congress,  by  a  reso- 


I  have  seen  the  report  of  the  majority  at  too  lution  endorsed  by  that  body,  to  extend  the 
late  a  period  to  prepare  a  minority  report,  but ,  aid  of  the  General  Government  to  all  such 
that  is  not  the  fault  of  the  chairman  of  the  \  States  as  shall  adopt  a  system  of  gradual  eman- 
committee  by  any  means.  He  showed  them  cipation ;  and, 

to  me  very  cheerfully  as  soon  as  I  saw  him,  I  Whereas,  this  Convention,  regarding  the 
but  he  was  hunting  me  and  I  him,  and  in  this  ultimate  and  general  prosperity  of  our  State  as 
way  we  did  not  happen  to  meet.  I  rise,  there-  ]  of  more  importance  than  any  special  interest, 
fore,  for  the  purpose  of  saying  that  I  dissent  and  believing  that  the  only  question  which 
from  those  resolutions,  and  that  I  prefer  the  Providence  has  left  for  our  people  to  decide  in 


resolutions  that  probably  will  be  offered. 


regard  to  slavery,  is  to  the  manner  and  terms 


Mr.  HOWELL.    I  desire  to  remark  that  I  was   upon  which  its  extinction  in  Missouri  shall  be 
also  unable  to  concur  in  the  report  which  has  '  accomplished  ;  therefore, 


234 


Resolved,  That  the  subject  of  gradual  emanci. 
pation  be  recommended  to  the  consideration  of 
the  people  as  a  means  by  which  slavery  can  be 
removed  from  the  State  with  the  least  possible 
inconvenience,  and  with  the  least  injury  to 
those  immediately  interested. 

Mr.  RAY.    I  move  to  lay  the  resolutions  and 
substitute  on  the  table. 
The  motion  was  lost. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.) 
As  I  think  the  message  of  the  Governor  is  en- 
titled to  a  special  response  from  this  body,  in 
reference  to  the  proposition  made  by  the  Pres- 
ident and  Congress,  I  shall  vote  no,  in  the 
expectation  that  we  shall  get  something  differ- 
ent in  the  way  of  a  response  from  the  resolu- 
tions proposed  by  a  majority  of  the  com- 
mittee. 

Mr.  STEWART.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.) 
I  vote  against  laying  on  the  table.  I  have 
offered  my  substitute  more  to  give  my  own 
views  on  the  subject  than  anything  else,  and  in 
order  that  the  people  of  the  State  may  know 
my  precise  opinion  on  the  subject.  I  do  not 
think  there  is  any  necessity  for  the  Convention 
to  pass  resolutions  in  order  to  satisfy  the  peo- 
ple of  the  North  that  we  occupy  a  position 
one  way  or  the  other.  I  suppose  they  are 
smart  enough  to  find  it  out  anyhow.  I  do  not 
believe  in  exciting  discussion,  neither  do  I  be- 
lieve in  the  propriety  of  saying  that  this  Con- 
vention shall  pass  a  resolution  without  discus- 
sion, in  order  to  satisfy  the  people  of  the  North 
that  we  did  not  treat  the  President  disrespect- 
fully. In  voting  down  the  resolution  here  the 
other  day,  it  was  no  insult  whatever.  I  sup- 
pose it  is  a  matter  the  President  has  nothing 
at  all  to  do  with.  I  suppose  we  had  a  perfect 
right  to  offer  that  resolution  and  to  vote  it 
down.  I  presume,  in  all  probability,  I  should 
not  have  voted  for  that  emancipation  bill,  but 
at  the  same  time  I  believe  the  people  of  Mis- 
souri should  extinguish  slavery,  and  I  believe 
further  that  the  rebels  have  put  it  in  a  speedy 
course  of  extinction.  In  this  unholy  war 
which  has  been  brought  upon  us  by  the  lead- 
ing conspirators  of  the  State,  they  have  them- 
selves torn  down  their  own  pet  institution,  so 
that  at  this  day  it  is  utterly  worthless.  No 
slaveholder  will  come  here  with  his  slaves 
hereafter.  On  the  border,  to-day,  I  know 
slaveholders  who  are  giving  their  slaves  passes 
to  go  to  Kansas,  and  anywhere  else,  because 
they  know  they  will  run  away  anyhow.  I  say 
that  the  besom  of  destruction  and  war  has  de- 
solated our  fields,  burned  our  houses,  stolen 


our  property,  bankrupted  the  State,  and  ruined 
the  institution  of  slavery  ;  and  in  order  to  re- 
ain  our  former  position,  we  have  got  to  de- 
pend upon  immigration — not  that  class  of  im- 
migrants who  have  come  to  this  State  hereto- 
fore with  their  slaves — they  will  not  come  be- 
cause it  won't  pay — but  we  have  got  to  depend 
on  another  class,  who  have  prejudices  against 
the  institution  of  slavery,  and  who  will  not 
come  because  it  is  here.  It  leaves  us  standing, 
therefore,  without  any  immigration  at  all.  The 
nstitution  is  nothing  but  a  shadow.  It  has 
been  virtually  killed  by  the  leaders  of  the  re- 
bellion, and  I  say  it  is  proper  for  the  people  of 
the  State  to  devise  some  plan  by  which  the  im- 
migration of  non-slaveholders  can  be  secured. 
I  think  it  is  time  that  the  people  of  the  State 
should  calmly  and  deliberately  think  over  the 
question,  and  look  at  it  in  a  financial  and  moral 
point  of  view  with  reference  to  their  own  inter- 
ests and  the  interests  of  the  State.  It  is  with 
this  view  that  I  offer  my  substitute. 

It  not  only  embodies  my  views,  but  I  believe 
the  views  of  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the 
State.  I  believe  it  is  morally  necessary  that 
the  slaveholders  should  consider  this  matter  at 
once,  because,  if  this  rebellion  is  carried  on 
much  longer,  a  blow  will  be  struck  by  the 
General  Government  that  will  take  the  niggers 
anyhow.  I  am  opposed  to  that,  and  I  am  op- 
posed to  this  prejudice  which  has  governed  us 
for  so  many  years,  to  such  an  extent,  that  no 
man  could  speak  upon  the  nigger  at  all  without 
being  called  an  Abolitionist  or  a  Yankee,  and 
every  foreigner  was  viewed  with  suspicion  be- 
cause they  said  he  was  against  the  institution 
of  slavery  ;  but  now  these  same  foreigners  have 
got  the  guns  in  their  own  hands,  arid  they  are 
fighting  bravely  for  the  institutions  of  Mis- 
souri. 

Mr.  ZIMMERMAN.  Mr.  President,  the  gen- 
tleman's time  is  up. 

The  PRESIDENT.     He  has  half  a  minute. 

Mr.  STEWART.  Well,  then,  if  I  have  a  half 
a  minute,  or  a  quarter  of  a  minute  further,  I 
will  state  that  I  intend  to  do  all  I  can  to  in- 
duce the  people  to  take  up  this  subject.  I  will 
advocate  it  with  the  pen,  on  the  stump,  and 
everywhere  else. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  Instead  of  replying  to  the  gen- 
tleman from  Buchanan,  by  reading  a  portion 
of  his  last  annual  message,  I  will,  in  order  to 
avoid  all  excitement  and  debate,  move  the  pre- 
vious question. 

Mr,  HALL  of  Buchanan.  That  will  cut  off 
all  amendments. 


235 


Mr.  BIRCH.    Well,   then,  I  will  withdraw 
the  motion. 

Mr.  ORR.    If  I  had  not  been  placed  upon  the 
CommitUv  I  would  not  open  my  mouth.     I 
voted  thf  other  day  to  lay  the  proposition  of 
Mr.  Breckinridge  on  the  table  from  no  disre- 
spect to  him  or  any  one  else,  but  from  the  fact 
that  I  believed  it  would   bring  agitation  into 
this  body,  and  perhaps  divide  the  Union  party 
and  weaken  the  Union  cause,  at  a  time  when 
we  are  unable  to  lose  any  Union  strength. 
That  was  all.     I  am  unable  to  see  why  we  are 
under  any  obligations  to  the  President  of  the 
United   States,  the   Congress  of   the   United 
States,  or  the  Governor  of  the  State  of   Mis- 
souri, to  comply  with  their  wishes  at  this  time; 
but  this  body  having  respectfully  considered  a 
proposition  made  by  a  traitor  from  Georgia,  at 
the  first  session  of  this  Convention,  asking  us  to 
dissolve  tli is  Union — I  say  we  respectfully  heard 
him  and  considered  his  proposition ;  and  when 
I  say  that,  I  mean  this  body,  for  I  did  not  vote 
for  anything  of  the  kind,  and  did  not  believe 
it  was  right.    I  think  it  is  now  proper  we  should 
consider  the  proposition  made  by  the  President. 
I  will  say,  however,  that  I  believe  it  was  the 
greatest  blunder  of  his  life,  but  I  believe  he 
did  it  from  the  best  of  motives  to  the  people  of 
the  slave  States ;  still  it  was  untimely  and  un- 
called  for,   in   my   opinion.     The   committee 
were  required  to  reply  to  that  proposition,  and 
in  a  respectful  manner  we  have  replied  to  it, 
and  have  notified  the  President  and  Congress 
that  we  do  not  think  it  proper,  at  this  hour,  to 
take  action  upon  the  subject;    and  now,  as  to 
whether  you  will  pass  our  recommendation,  or 
that  of  somebody  else,  it  is  for  you  to  deter- 
mine.    There   was   but  one  solitary  word  in 
that  report  that  I  had  the  least  objection  to.     I 
was  willing  to  say  that  it  was  a  liberal  propo- 
sition for  Congress  to  offer  to  pay  for  the  slaves 
if  we  desired  to  get  rid  of  them.     They  do  not 
propose  to  force  us  to  rid  ourselves  of  them, 
agree  with  the  report  that  it  is  a  liberal  offer. 
The  word  appreciate,  however,  I  objected  to, 
because  some  might  construe  it  that  we  en- 
dorsed the  proposition;  but,  on  mature  reflec- 
tion, I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  had  no 
such  meaning,  and  therefore  I  consented  to  the 
report  and  it  became  a  majority  report.     Now 
it  is  for  this  body  to  take  what  action  they 
think  proper  upon  it.     You  can  vote  for  some 
other  proposition  if  you  choose.     I  have  only 
done  what  I  believed  to  be  my  duty.    I  have 
agreed  to  the  report  and  expect  to  vote  for  it. 
Mr.  STEWART.    In  order  to  obviate  any  par 


icular  excitement  here,  I  will  withdraw  my 
resolution,  if  I  can  have  it  spread  upon  the 
record. 

The  PRESIDENT.  It  will  go  upon  the  record 
is  a  matter  of  course. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  I  wish  to  offer  a 
substitute  for  the  resolutions  reported  by  the 
najority  of  the  committee  : 

The  Convention  of  Missouri,  in  response  to 
the  message  of  Governor  Gamble  with  refer- 
nce  to  the  message  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  the  resolution  of  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  adopt  the  following 
resolution : 

Resolved,  That  while  this  Convention  recog- 
nize the  patriotic  motives  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  in  the  action  referred  to, 
yet  the  Convention  think  it  should  not  act 
on  the  subject  of  emancipation,  for  the  follow- 
ing among  other  reasons,  as  expressed  by  Gov. 
Gamble: 

'When  this  Convention  was  chosen,  the 
subject  before  the  public  mind  was  the  relations 
between  the  State  and  the  General  Govern' 
ment.  Acting  upon  this  subject,  the  Conven- 
tion deposed  a  Governor  and  Legislature,  be- 
cause they  were  trying  to  disturb  those  rela- 
tions ;  military  ordinances  were  adopted,  be- 
cause a  military  force  was  necessary  to  main- 
tain those  relations ;  the  offices  of  all  persons 
in  office  who  refused  to  take  an  oath  of  allegi- 
ance were  vacated,  because  official  power  in  the 
hands  of  disloyal  persons  might  be  employed 
to  disturb  such  relations;  laws  were  vacated,  be- 
cause they  had  been  passed  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  on  a  collision  with  the  General  Gov- 
ernment ;— in  fine,  the  action  of  the  Convention 
has  been  mainly  addressed  to  one  subject, 
which  it  was  elected  to  consider,  and  those 
which  naturally  arose  out  of  it.  When,  then, 
it  is  asked  to  entertain  a  proposition  which  is 
to  effect  a  radical  change  in  the  social  organi- 
zation of  our  State,  it  is  well  warranted  in  de- 
clining to  act  upon  the  proposition,  upon  the 
ground  that  the  people  in  choosing  the  Con- 
vention never  intended  or  imagined  that  the 
bod}r  would  undertake  any  social  revolution 
wholly  unconnected  with  the  relations  between 
the  State  and  the  General  Government." 

I  agree  with  my  collt  ague  in  the  opinion  that 
our  action  in  laying  on  the  table  the  proposition 
of  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  could  not  pro- 
perly be  construed  as  discourteous  to  the  Pres- 
ident or  Congress  of  the  United  States.  And 
I  agree  further  with  my  colleague,  in  regret- 
ting that  the  Governor  of  the  State  thought 


236 


it  proper  to  send  to  this  Convention  this  mes- 
sage of  yesterday  ;  but,  sir,  the  Governor,  for 
reasons  entirely  satisfactory  to  himself,  has 
sent  us  a  message,  and  it  now  becomes  our 
duty  to  treat  it  with  proper  respect.  It  appears 
to  me  it  would  be  far  better  to  adopt  the  sub- 
stitute I  have  offered  than  the  original  report 
of  the  committee.  It  appears  to  me,  sir,  that 
the  report  of  the  committee  is  an  endorsement 
of  the  proposition  made  by  Congress.  I  be- 
lieve the  country  will  so  understand  it,  and  I 
cannot  endorse  that  proposition,  because  I 
think  it  is  wrong.  As  I  believe  it  is  wrong  in 
principle,  and  will  work  badly  in  practice,  I 
repeat,  I  cannot  endorse  it;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  [  am  willing  to  do  everything  I  can,  con- 
sistently with  my  views  of  duty,  to  treat  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  all  his  pro- 
positions, with  the  utmost  respect.  I  consider 
that  the  people  of  the  State  owe  the  President 
and  Congress  of  the  United  States  a  debt  of 
gratitude  which  it  will  be  difficult  for  them  ever 
to  repay ;  but  for  the  President  and  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  every  Union  man  in  the 
State  would  now  be  an  exile;  their  property 
would  be  taken  from  them,  and  they  would  be 
beggars  and  wanderers.  I  believe  we  are  here 
now  because  the  President  has  protected  us, 
and  I  believe  we  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  our 
rights  at  this  moment  because  the  President  of 
the  United  States  has  done  his  duty,  and  I  am 
not  willing  to  do  anything  which  could  wound 
the  feelings  of  that  great  and  good  man.  But, 
still,  I  cannot  go  to  the  extent  to  which  the  ma- 
jority of  the  committee  advise  us  to  go. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  am  glad,  Mr.  Pres- 
ident, to  hope  from  the  spirit  manifested  thus 
far  that  what  will  be  said  on  this  subject  will 
be  said  in  all  kindness  and  without  undue  ex- 
citement. I  have  no  disposition,  certainly,  to 
say  anything  that  will  excite  feeling  or  strife. 
The  gentleman  from  Buchanan  (Mr.  Hall)  re- 
grets that  the  Governor  has,  by  his  special 
message,  brought  this  subject  before  the  Con- 
vention. I  widely  differ  from  the  gentleman. 
I  rejoice  that  he  has  done  so.  Now,  sir,  in  ref- 
erence to  this,  I  will  only  say  that,  while  I 
have  had  no  conference  with  the  Governor  on 
the  subject  since  the  introduction  of  the  ordi- 
nance concerning  emancipation  by  me  the  other 
day,  I  have  no  doubt  he  has  good  reasons,  in 
addition  to  the  intrinsic  merit  of  its  sugges- 
tions, for  having  made  the  recommendations 
contained  in  this  special  message.  No  doubt 
he  would  have  made  these  suggestions  in  his 
message  at  the  opening  of  the  session  if  he  had 


at  that  time  thought  them  proper  or  necessary ; 
and  the  fact  that  he  makes  them  now,  shows 
that  he  has  motives  for  so  doing  that  did  not 
then  exist,  or  that  further  reflection,  or  subse- 
quent occurrences,  or  both,  have  worked  a 
change  in  his  opinion. 

I  have  several  objections  to  the  substitute  of 
the  gentleman  from  Buchanan.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  in  bad  taste  for  this  Convention,  in 
response  to  a  message  from  the  Governor,  re- 
commending particular  action  to  cut  out  a 
portion  of  his  communication,  and  thus  re- 
spond to  his  suggestions  in  his  own  language, 
and  use  it  in  the  way  here  proposed.  As  a 
mere  matter  of  taste,  the  Convention  should 
use  its  own  phraseology,  and  surely  should  not 
cast  back  upon  the  Governor  the  very  words 
he  has  just  addressed  to  it. 

In  the  next  place,  I  object  to  it  because  it 
argues  the  question,  and  almost  apologizes  for 
the  action  taken  the  other  day.  While  I 
thought,  and  am  daily  confirmed  in  the  opin- 
ion, that  the  Convention  erred  exceedingly  in 
that  action,  I  think  it  is  not  desirable  for  us  to 
say  anything  in  these  resolutions  as  an  apology 
for  what  was  done  on  that  occasion.  I  object 
again,  sir,  because  much  as  I  respect  the  Gov- 
ernor, even  if  it  were  in  itself  proper  to  adopt 
his  own  language,  I  do  not  concur  in  the  suf- 
ficiency or  accuracy  of  the  reasons  assigned 
for  non-action  ;  and  indeed  I  do  not  understand 
the  Governor  to  give  them  as  his  own  reasons, 
but  to  speak  of  them  as  reasons  which  may  ex- 
ist, or  be  assigned  by  this  body,  if  it  should 
make  a  certain  response  and  should  deem  them 
proper.  But,  however  this  may  be,  I  cannot 
consent  by  my  action  to  place  the  Convention  in 
a  position  inconsistent  with  itself,  as  would,  in 
my  judgment,  be  done  by  the  adoption  of  this 
substitute.  We  have  had  before  us,  and  we 
have  acted  upon,  divers  things  not  necessarily 
connected  with  the  especial  business  for  which 
we  were  elected,  or  arising  therefrom.  The 
argument  is  this  :  that  because  we  were  elected 
for  a  special  purpose,  and  have  confined  our 
action  mainly  to  it,  therefore  we  should  take 
no  action  on  this  question,. because  it  is  no  part 
of  the  business  for  which  we  were  elected. 
The  use  of  the  qualifying  word  "mainly"  is 
fatal,  of  itself,  to  the  argument ;  and,  indeed, 
the  subject  of  this  communication  is  directly 
and  necessarily  connected  with  the  very  mat- 
ters we  were  elected  to  deal  with.  But,  waiv- 
ing this,  the  fact  is  within  the  knowledge  of 
all  of  us  that  we  have  done  many  things  which 
we  were  not  elected  to  do,  and  which  are  not 


237 


necessarily  connected  with  the  special  matter 
we  were  called  to  deal  with.  Even  yesterday, 
we  passed  laws  in  regard  to  the  revenue  and 
assessments,  having  no  connection  with  the 
questions  concerning  the  relations  existing  be- 
tween the  State  of  Missouri  and  the  General 
Government.  I  am  not  willing  that  the  Con- 
vention, in  addressing  the  President,  the  Con- 
gress, and  the  world — for  our  response  to  the 
propositions  of  the  Government  will  be  widely 
read — should  run  the  risk  of  being  supposed  to 
have  indulged  in  such  inconsistency — of  being 
ignorant  of  its  own  past  action — and  of  being 
willing,  in  dealing  with  matters  so  important — 
when  to  be  uncandid  is  to  be  disgraced — to  as- 
sign reasons  for  its  course  which  its  own  daily 
action  and  its  record  prove  untrue. 

There  is  great  force  in  the  remarks  of  the 
gentleman  from  Greene.  When  that  emissary 
of  treason  came  bearing  to  us  from  the  State  of 
Georgia,  at  our  first  session  in  February,1861,  so- 
licitations to  join  her  in  her  evil  courses,  we  gave 
him  a  respectful  hearing,  (not  by  my  desire  or 
vote  I  beg  you  to  remember,)  and  now  when  this 
body  is  asked  to  give  a  respectful  hearing  and  a 
courteous  response  to  a  proposition  emanating 
from  the  President  and  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  so  marked  by  liberality  and  evidences 
of  an  earnest  desire  to  save  us  from  loss,  gen- 
tlemen who  claim  to  be  loyal  hesitate,  deplore 
the  introduction  of  the  topic  by  the  Governor, 
who  could  not  do  his  duty  and  avoid  it,  and 
measure  and  weigh  and  criticise  words  lest 
they  should  respond  too  courteously.  This 
body  did  respectfully  consider  the  treasonable 
proposition  coming  from  the  State  of  Georgia  ; 
yet,  now,  gentlemen  seem  unwilling  to  give  any 
deliberate  consideration,  or  any  respectful  re- 
sponse, to  a  proposition  coming  from  the  Presi- 
dent and  Congress  of  the  United  States,  made 
for  no  selfish  reason,  but  prompted  by  their 
judgment  as  to  our  best  interest  and  that  of  the 
whole  country, — coming  from  those,  who,  as 
the  Governor  in  his  message  says,  and  also  the 
gentleman  from  Buchanan  admits,  have  so  pro- 
tected and  defended  us  against  the  deadliest  as 
saults, — that  it  is  to  them,  under  God,  we  owe 
our  prosperity,  our  homes,  our  liberty,  and  our 
lives.  Gentlemen  are  familiar,  sir,  with  my 
views  on  this  whole  subject,  and  know  whal 
plan  would  be  adopted  if  they  could  prevail 
and  I  need,  therefore,  hardly  say  that  the  reso- 
lutions I  have  rpported  from  the  majority  ol 
the  committee  do  not  reflect  my  wishes  fully 
but  I  have  yielded  much  for  this  purpose  to 
meet  the  views  of  others,  and  only  ask — what  ? 


That  they — this  body — should  now  endorse 
emancipation.  Not  at  all,  sir.  That  the  sub- 
ect  shall  be  agitated  ?  Not  at  all.  But  that, 
since  the  President  and  Congress  appeal  to  us 

0  take  some  action  on  this  subject,  and  proffer 
aid  to  enable  us  to  do  so,  and  since,  no  less  the 

overnor's    recommendation    than   a    proper 
sense  of  duty  and  courtesy,  demand  an  answer, 
we  shall  respond,  that  propositions  thus  pre- 
sented are  entitled  to  respectful  consideration, 
and  that  while  the  majority  of  this  body  have 
not  felt  authorized  to  take  action  upon  them, 
hey  desire  to  express  their  high  appreciation 
of  the  generous  spirit  in  which  they  are  made. 
The  Governor  expresses  his  estimate  of  the  of- 
er  made  by  Congress  in  much  stronger  terms 
han  are  used  in  the  resolutions  proposed  by 
the  committee.     His  language  is,  that  the  pro- 
position of  the  President  and  of  Congress,  if 
carried  into  effect,  would  be  one  of  "  unexam- 
pled liberality."     [Time  up.] 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  Having  been  one  of  the 
members  of  the  committee,  Mr.  Presidentj  I 
feel  it  my  duty  to  present  my  views  briefly,  as 

1  will  have   to  do,   to  the   Convention.     My 
opinion  on  the  slavery  question  need  not  be  dis- 
cussed.    I  have  no  explanation  to  make  on  that 
subject,  and  have  no  record  now  to  produce. 
The  resolutions  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Buchanan  are  the  same  I  referred  to  before, 
but  they  were  altered  in  this.     They   before 
conformed  to  my  opinion  on  the  subject  sub- 
stantially,  and  only  substantially.     These  res- 
olutions, as  T  presented  them  to  the  committee, 
while  not  recognizing  any  right  of  the  Presi- 
dent— which  he  does  not  claim  at  all— to  inter- 
fere with  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  States, 
nevertheless  admitted  the  proposition  made  by 
the  General  Government  as  liberal  in  the  ex- 
treme to  all  those  States  that  choose  to  eman- 
cipate their  slaves.     I  believe  it  is  a  right  that 
the  people  have  everywhere — of  course  it  is 
purely  domestic  and  purely  local — to  take  that 
subject  into  consideration.     I  have  nothing  to 
say  against  the  General  Government  recom- 
mending whatever  they  please  on  that  subject. 
This  is  done  in  a  spirit  of  liberality,  and  they 
do  not  ask  us  to  embrace  it.     It  is  a  matter 
left  entirely  to  the  State.     The  gentleman  from 
Buchanan  has  put  in  "patriotic  motives"  in- 
stead  of   a  "  spirit  of   liberality."     I   do  not 
think  this  change  corresponds  exactly  with  my 
ideas  of  responding  to  the  proposition  made  by 
the  Government.     My  idea  is  that  it  is  liberal. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.     I  made  the  change 
because  it  seemed  to  better  satisfy  some  of  the 


238 


members   of   the    Convention.     I  have  now 
changed  it  back. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  I  will  not  discuss  that 
matter  further.  My  friend  from  St.  Louis  dif- 
fered with  me  on  a  committee  as  we  differ  in 
the  Convention.  It  has  been  argued  that  we 
have  mainly  confined  ourselves  to  legislation 
on  subjects  relating  to  our  connections  with 
the  United  States  and  this  rebellion.  Well,  I 
admit  that  to  be  the  fact,  but  I  proposed  the 
other  day  that  this  body  should  form  itself 
into  a  legislative  body,  and  I  believed  that  the 
safety  of  the  State  would  be  better  secured  by 
the  action  of  this  Convention  than  by  any  other 
body  j  but  the  proposition  was  repudiated,  and 
gentlemen  declared  we  were  wholly  unfit  for 
it — that  we  were  not  elected  for  that  purpose — 
and  we  were  told  by  the  gentleman  from  Da- 
viess,  (Mr.  McFerran,)  for  whom  I  have  the 
greatest  respect,  that  it  was  sheer  cowardice 
on  my  part  to  make  such  a  proposition.  The 
Convention,  then,  has  deliberately  decided  it 
would  not  legislate. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  we  have  in  the  first 
place  raised  troops  for  the  war  —  that  was 
with  the  idea  of  the  rebellion.  We  have  dis- 
placed a  disloyal  Governor,  and  have  substitu- 
ted a  loyal  one — that  was  with  an  eye  to  the 
rebellion.  In  view  of  the  expenses  incurred 
by  the  Provisional  Government  in  calling  sol- 
diers into  the  field,  we  have  passed  a  revenue 
law  for  the  purpose  of  paying  expenses;  and 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  currency 
with  which  they  are  paid  from  depreciating, 
the  revenue  bill  to  which  the  gentleman  refers 
was  passed,  with  a  view  to  the  rebellion.  It 
is  substantially  as  much  a  war  measure  as  any 
passed  by  this  body.  The  sinews  of  war  are 
men  and  money.  Money  is  as  essentially  a 
sinew  as  men,  and  these  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  keep  up  the  Provisional  Government, 
and  to  meet  the  expenses  that  the  Governor  has 
incurred  in  calling  out  the  militia  of  the  State, 
which  amounts  to  a  million  of  dollars,  as  I  am 
told  by  the  Lieutenant  Governor. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  know  of  nothing  else 
on  which  we  have  legislated  of  any  importance 
at  all,  except  the  subjects  that  are  legitimate 
to  this  rebellion.  What  are  the  resolutions  of 
the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  ?  They  do  not 
offer  to  change  the  relation  of  master  and  ser- 
vant. They  do  not  inaugurate  a  system  of 
emancipation,  or  tell  the  President  they  are 
willing  to  favor  it.  They  do  nothing  more 
than  this  latter  resolution,  as  far  as  I  can  see. 
I  prefer,  however,  the  phraseology  of  this,  be- 


cause it  does  not  give  so  cordial  an  endorse- 
ment of  the  recommendation  of  the  President. 
[Here  the  hammer  fell.] 

Mr.  MCFERRAN.  I  was  not  intending  to  say 
a  word  in  the  discussion  on  the  question  now 
before  the  Convention.  As,  however,  the  dis- 
tinguished gentleman  from  Clay  (Mr.  Doni- 
phan)  has  alluded  to  the  debate  the  other  day, 
and  as  I  conceive  he  has  wholly  misunderstood 
the  argument  then  made,  I  desire  to  say  to  that 
gentleman,  and  to  the  Convention,  that  I  did 
not  charge  that  gentleman,  or  any  other  mem- 
ber of  the  Convention,  with  cowardice.  Not 
at  all.  I  did  say,  however,  in  that  debate,  that 
to  shift  the  responsibility  from  the  Convention 
to  the  Governor,  and  to  impose  upon  him  the 
duty  of  ordering  an  election,  did  manifest  a 
want  of  moral  courage  that  the  Convention 
should  not  indulge  in.  I  made  no  application 
whatever  to  the  gentleman  from  Clay  any 
more  than  to  any  other  gentleman,  and  I  am 
sorry  if  the  gentleman  understood  me  as  ma- 
king any  application  personally  to  him. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  I  did  not  understand  the 
gentleman  as  charging  me  with  a  want  of 
physical  courage,  although  he  may  have  done 
it  j  but  I  am  willing  to  take  the  gentleman's 
explanation  that  he  charged  me  with  a  want  of 
moral  courage  to  meet  an  exigency. 

Mr.  MCFERRA.N.  I  made  no  charge  to  the 
gentleman  that  he  did  not  make  to  the  Conven- 
tion. The  proposition  was  that  it  lacked  the 
moral  courage  which  I  thought  the  Convention 
should  manifest. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  That  is  all  satisfactory. 
Mr.  STEWART.  I  object  to  that  substitute 
upon  the  same  grounds  that  I  object  to  the  pro- 
position laid  down  in  the  Governor's  message. 
In  one  part  of  that  message  he  recommends 
that  no  agitation  be  raised  on  the  subject.  The 
presumption  is  that  the  Governor  wishes  his 
own  peculiar  views  to  be  carried  through  this 
Convention  without  any  discussion ;  and  yes- 
terday, when  my  honorable  colleague  (Mr. 
Hall)  proposed  to  print  the  message,  and  to 
adjourn  at  11  o'clock  to-day,  I  asked  him  dis- 
tinctly the  question  if  that  was  intended  to  cut 
off  all  debate  on  the  proposition.  I  believe  if 
that  resolution  had  carried,  I  should  not 'have 
had  my  rights  upon  the  subject.  I  am  opposed 
in  toto,  not  only  to  the  Governor's  message, 
but  to  the  substitute  offered  by  the  gentleman 
from  Buchanan. 

Mr.  MARMADUKE.  I  regret,  Mr.  President, 
and  deeply  regret,  sir,  that  I  conscientiously 
feel  called  upon  again  to  intrude  my  views  be- 


239 


fore  the  Convention  j  but  I  would  feel,  Mr. 
President,  that  I  was  clearly  negligent  of  the 
duty  I  owe  myself,  as  well  as  ray  constituents 
and  the  people  of  Missouri,  were  I  to  remain 
silent  under  the  circumstances  that  now  sur- 
round me.  Mr.  President,  it  is  particularly 
painful  for  me  to  feel  and  know  that  my  voice, 
raised  in  the  advocacy  of  any  measure  on  this 
floor,  is  like  the  blasting  breath  of  the  simoon, 
or  still  more  like  the  noxious  malaria  that  ri- 
ses from  the  tropical  swamps,  or  like  the  deadly 
Upas  that  kills,  decays  and  blights  everything 
it  touches. 

But,  Mr.  President,  I  feel  that  the  Governor 
of  the  State  of  Missouri,  in  bringing  this  ques- 
tion before  the  Convention,  has  committed  an 
impropriety  which  it  is  right  and  proper,  and 
my  duty  on  this  floor  to  expose.  The  question, 
sir,  springs  upon  this  Convention,  not  like 
Minerva  from  the  head  of  Jove,  but  like  Phoe- 
nix from  its  own  ashes,  it  raises  its  head  here 
once  more. 

Mr.  President,  the  question  has  once  been 
settled.  It  came  up  fairly,  squarely  and  prop- 
erly be*fore  this  body,  and  we  listened  to  a 
speech  of  an  hour's  length  from  the  distin- 
guished, able  and  eloquent  gentleman  from  St. 
Louis.  The  question,  I  say,  was  fairly  and 
squarely  brought  before  this  body ;  but,  sir, 
this  Convention,  in  the  full  deliberation,  and 
the  full  conviction  of  its  sense  of  duty, 
not  only  disposed  of  it,  but,  in  my  humble  opin- 
ion, disposed  of  it  in  conformity  with  the  views 
of  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the  State;  and 
yet  it  comes  again  before  the  Convention,  not 
in  the  morning  of  its  life,  nor  in  the  mid-day 
splendor  of  its  glory,  but  in  the  wee  small 
hours  of  its  existence,  when  its  life  has  been 
nearly  spent. 

Sir,  I  sincerely  hope  and  believe  that  every 
member  on  this  floor  sufficiently  appreciates 
the  patriotism  and  exalted  ability  with  which 
the  President  of  the  United  States  has  discharg 
ed  his  duty  to  the  people  of  Missouri.  I  be- 
lieve we  all  sufficiently  appreciate  the  service 
he  has  rendered  us  in  driving  the  invader  from 
the  State  j  but  I  do  not  believe,  because  we 
have  that  high  appreciation  of  both  his  patri- 
otism and  his  ability  that  we  are  necessarily 
to  go  before  him,  on  bended  knees,  and  apolo- 
gize for  having  refused  to  take  action  upon  a 
measure  which  the  whole  people  deprecate 
and  which  the  action  of  this  Convention  has 
deprecated.  I,  sir,  cannot  agree  with  the  res- 
olutions reported  by  a  majority  of  this  com- 
mittee ;  and  yet,  sir,  I  may  possibly  vote  for 


he  resolution  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Buchanan.  Yet,  even  that  does  not  go  to  the 
extent  that  this  Convention  should  speak,  if 
we  speak  at  all. 

Mr.  President,  I  am  sorry  again,  sir,  to  have 
ntruded  on  the  Convention,  but  I  felt  that  my 
duty  to  myself  and  my  constituents  required 
Juat  I  should  at  least  say  this  much, 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  Mr.  President,  believing, 
sir,  that  the  offer  made  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  conjunction  with  Congress,  is 
a  liberal  one,  and  believing  that  it  is  couched 
in  respectful  language,  I  believe  also  that  it  is 
ntitled  to  a.  respectful  response.  I  suppose, 
sir,  there  is  no  question  among  the  members  of 
this  Convention  as  to  the  propriety  of  respond- 
ing to  the  proposition.  The  only  difference,  I 
take  it,  is,  as  to  the  language  we  shall  use  in 
responding  to  the  offer  of  the  President.  Now, 
the  two  propositions  before  the  house  differ  in 
no  essential  particular.  The  reason  assigned 
in  the  substitute  proposed  by  the  gentleman 
from  Buchanan,  is  that  this  Convention  has 
heretofore  considered  no  propositions  except 
such  as  are  connected  with  the  secession  ques- 
tion ;  that  is  substantially  the  reason,  but  not 
the  language.  Now,  I  hold  that  that  reason 
cannot  be  supported  by  any  reference  to  the  re- 
cord and  proceedings  of  this  Convention.  The 
record  is  established,  beyond  all  controversy, 
that  we  have  considered  other  propositions, 
and  I  need  only  refer  to  the  action  of  the  Con- 
vention on  yesterday,  when  we  adopted  an  or- 
dinance, by  a  very  large  majority,  fixing  the 
day  for  holding  the  State  elections  to  the  Tues- 
day after  the  first  Monday  in  November.  It 
cannot  be  said  that  that  grew  out  of  the  seces- 
sion question.  And  now  it  is  proposed  to  say 
to  the  President  and  Congress  of  the  United 
States  that  we  have  not  considered  this  propo- 
sition, because  we  have  not  considered  any 
proposition  except  such  as  grew  out  of  seces- 
sion. I  hold  our  very  record  would  convict  us 
of  gross  inconsistency.  We  cannot  do  it,  and 
I  do  not  wish  the  Convention  to  occupy  any 
such  attitude  as  that  before  the  civilized  world. 
Now,  as  to  the  resolutions  reported  by  a 
majority  of  the  committee,  they  simply  declare 
that  the  proposition  is  a  liberal  one.  It  is 
liberal,  but  these  majority  resolutions  do  not 
endorse  the  scheme  proposed  by  any  means. 
They  merely  say  that  the  proposition  is  a  lib- 
eral one,  and  we  recognize  and  appreciate  its 
liberality. 

The  second  resolution  goes  further  and  says 
the  majority  of  this  Convention  do  not  feel 


240 


authorized  at  this  time  to  take  any  action  with 
respect  to  the  President's  offer.  Surely,  sir, 
there  is  nothing  improper  in  this  thing;  we  do 
not  by  a  single  word,  letter,  or  sentence  in  this 
resolution  endorse  the  proposition  of  the  Pres- 
ident. We  simply  recognize  and  appreciate 
its  liberality.  Now,  for  these  reasons,  I  am  in 
favor  of  the  resolutions  reported  by  the  major- 
ity of  the  committee.  The  resolution  of  the 
gentleman  from  Buchanan  is  controverted  by 
the  record  of  our  proceedings,  and  I  cannot 
vote  for  it. 

Mr.  HALL.  The  gentleman  doubtless  re- 
members that  the  resolution  only  states  that  we 
take  this  action  for  the  following)  among  other 
reasons. 

Mr.  DOUGLASS.  Exactly,  and  I  think  if  this 
resolution  is  adopted  and  presented  to  Congress, 
they  would  be  pointing  to  our  own  record  and 
convicting  us  of  inconsistency.  Our  own 
records  would  be  thrown  into  our  teeth,  and 
we  would  be  told  that  in  refusing  to  take  action 
on  this  subject  we  merely  contradicted  the 
very  records  of  our  proceedings.  Sir,  I  cannot 
consent  to  place  this  Convention  in  any  such 
inconsistent  attitude.  I  hold  that  in  responding 
to  this  invitation  we  shall  do  it  in  simple,  but 
in  respectful  languar-,  and  we  will  not  assign 
any  reason  for  our  action  which  is  not  sus- 
tained by  fact  .and  truth.  Therefore  I  shall 
vote  against  the  substitute. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  We  were  called  together  to 
take  into  consideration  the  lelations  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  to  the  General  Government, 
and  to  the  other  States  of  the  Union.  At  the 
March  session  of  the  Convention  we  took  those 
relations  into  consideration,  and  as  far  as  this 
Convention  could  be  authoiitative  on  that 
proposition,  we  agreed  with  singular  unanimity, 
arid  with  only  one  dissenting  vote,  that  I  re- 
member, on  the  disposition  of  that  question  at 
that  time. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  this  question  could  only 
be  brought  in  here  upon  the  hypothesis  that 
slavery  stood  in  the  way  of  reconstructing  or 
perpetuating  the  Union,  or  of  suppressing  the 
rebellion  in  the  State  of  Missouri.  That  ground 
is  not  assumed  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  nor  is  such  a  position  argued  or  insisted 
upon  by  any  gentleman  on  this  floor.  If,  then, 
slavery  stood  not  in  the  way  of  either  of  these 
two  thing*,  I  hold  it  that  it  was  a  matter  over 
which  the  President  of  the  United  States  had 
no  jurisdiction  whatever,  and  as  President  of  the 
United  States  he  had  no  right  at  all  to  recom- 
mend it  to  the  State  of  Missouri,  or  to  any  of  the 


border  slave  States.  But,  sir,  the  President,  at 
the  same  time  he  made  that  proposition,  did 
not  pretend  to  urge  either  that  slavery  was  in 
the  way  of  putting  down  the  rebellion  here,  or 
of  reconstructing  the  Union.  He  did  not  insist 
it  was  a  matter  over  which  he  had  any  jurisdic- 
tion, but,  on  the  contrary,  expressly  disclaimed 
any  desire  whatever  to  interpose  in  the  domestic 
institutions  of  the  country.  Now,  sir,  this  being 
the  case,  and  it  not  bearing  at  all  upon  the 
sovereignty  of  the  State,  and  it  not  being 
necessary  in  any  degree  whatever  to  act  upon 
this  hypothesis  to  vindicate  the  sovereignty  of 
the  State,  I  take  it,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
it  is  then  a  question  over  which  we  have  no 
jurisdiction — which  we  have  no  right  to  force 
on  the  people  of  the  State,  and  which  we  have 
no  right  to  invite  the  people  of  the  State  to 
take  into  consideration.  Therefore,  sir,  I 
cannot  vote  for  the  majority  report.  It  states 
that  it  is  a  matter  eminently  deserving  consid- 
eration of  this  body  and  of  the  people  of  the 
State.  Now,  I  acknowledge  if  the  people  of 
this  State  are  disposed  to  raise  this  question  as 
a  question  of  political  economy,  and  to  discuss 
it  and  dispose  of  it  as  they  deem  proper — it  is 
a  question  that  they  have  the  right  to  consider 
and  dispose  of  in  their  own  way,  arid  in  refer- 
ence to  their  own  convenience  and  interests. 
But  I  hold,  sir,  that  it  is  not  one  that  we  have 
a  right  to  bring  before  the  people.  Holding 
these  views,  I  think  the  proper  response — if 
any  should  be  made  to  the  resolution,  as  re- 
commended by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  passed  by  Congress — should  be  that 
this  body  has  no  jurisdiction  of  the  question 
one  way  or  the  other,  either  to  say  that  the 
people  should  not  consider  this  matter,  or  to 
recommend  to  the  people  that  they  should  con- 
sider it.  If  it  is  to  be  considered  by  the  people, 
I  think  they  should  start  it,  for  they  are  the 
only  proper  power  in  the  State  that  has  the 
right  so  to  do.  [Here  the  hammer  fell.] 

Mr.  IRWIN.  I  prefer  the  resolution  as  in- 
troduced by  the  gentleman  from  Buchanan, 
(  Mr.  Hall. )  I  think  it  is  not  liable  to  miscon- 
struction. The  only  objection  I  see  to  the 
resolutions,  as  reported  by  the  majority  of  the 
committee,  is  that  they  are  liable  to  miscon- 
struction. 

But,  sir,  I  rise  for  the  purpose  of  saying  a 
word  with  reference  to  a  remark  of  the  gen- 
tleman from  Cooper,  (Mr.  Douglass,)  in  which 
he  urged  that  if  the  Convention  passed  the 
resolution  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Buchanan,  it  would  be  stultifying  itself — that 


241 


the  assertion  that  this  Convention  had  confined 
itself  in  the  main  to  legislating  upon  those 
subjects  that  were  agitating  the  public  mind  at 
the  time  the  members  of  the  Convention  were 
elected,  was  not  borne  out  by  fact.  Now,  sir, 
the  phraseology,  as  used  by  the  Governor 
himself,  is  not  that  the  action  of  this  Conven- 
tion has  been  entirely  confined  to  one  subject, 
but  that  t7i  the  main  it  has  been  addressed  to 
this  one  subject,  and  to  those  things  which 
naturally  arose  out  of  it.  The  gentleman  from 
Cooper  says  that  if  we  passed  this  resolution 
our  records  would  condemn  us — that  our 
records  will  be  inconsistent  upon  this  point. 
Now,  sir,  that,  as  I  consider  it,  is  indirectly 
casting  a  reflection  upon  the  Governor  himself. 
He  has  stated  in  most  emphatic  terms  that  the 
action  of  the  Convention  has  been  mainly 
addressed  to  the  one  subject  which  it  was  elec- 
ted to  consider,  and  to  those  which  naturally 
arose  out  of  it — the  very  identical  words  used 
in  the  resolution  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Buchanan.  Now,  if  the  Convention,  in  passing 
that  resolution,  is  stultifying  itself,  and  making 
for  itself  an  inconsistent  record — if  it  is  stating, 
in  fact,  what  is  not  true,  then  the  Governor 
himself  is  guilty  of  the  same  thing.  Now,  I 
have  no  idea  that  the  gentleman  from  Cooper 
intended  to  reflect  on  the  Governor,  but,  never- 
theless, they  are  susceptible  of  such  a  construc- 
tion. As  I  said  before,  I  shall  vote  for  the 
substitute  of  the  gentleman  from  Buchanan, 
and  if  that  is  voted  down,  I  shall  vote  for  — 
[Here  the  hammer  fell.] 

Mr.  SH  ACKELFORD  of  Howard.     If  we  adopt 
the  gentleman's  substitute,  can  I  offer  a  substi 
tutefor  that? 

The  PRESIDENT.  You  can  only  offer  it  by 
way  of  amendment. 

Mr.  SHACKELFORD.  I  will  read  what  I 
propose  to  offer:  "The  Convention  having 
respectfully  considered  the  message  of  the 
Governor  on  the  proposition  to  pay  for  the 
slaves  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  not  doubt- 
ing the  patriotic  motives  of  the  Governor,  we 
are  unable  to  see  the  propriety  of  the  action 
recommended;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention,  representing 
the  sovereignty  of  the  people  of  Missouri,  do 
not  see  in  the  action  heretofore  had  on  the 
subject  of  emancipation,  anything  which  can 
be  construed  as  tending  in  any  way  to  relieve 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  from  its 
obligations  to  protect,  in  their  persons  and 
property,  without  conditions,  every  loyal  citi- 
zen of  this  State." 

16 


The  PRESIDENT.  The  Chair  is  of  the  opinion 
that  the  proposition  of  the  gentleman  would 
lot  be  in  order. 

Mr.  RAY.  1  move  to  strike  out  the  following 
words  in  the  substitute:  "While  this  Con- 
vention recognize  the  liberality  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  in  the  action  referred 
"  The  substitute  will  be  entirely  intelligible 
and  proper  if  these  words  are  struck  out,  and 
my  proposition  is  to  strike  out  what  is  termed 
the  recognition  of  the  liberality  of  the  President 
in  making  that  proposition. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.     Mr.  President,  it  strikes 
me  that  the  amendment  to  the  substitute  now 
before  the  Convention  is  a  perfectly  consistent 
carrying  out  of  the  real  (I  will  not  say  in- 
tended) effect  of  the  substitute  itself,   and  I 
desire  very  briefly  to  suggest  to  this  Convention 
what  they  will  be  doing  in  adopting  either  the 
amendment  or  the  substitute.     The  Governor 
of  this  State  thought  proper  not  to  mention  this 
subject  in   his   official  message,  wherein  he 
called  our  attention  at  great  length  to  the  sub- 
jects of  interest  to  the  State.     Certain  action 
was  taken  in  this  body,  and  as  certainly  follow- 
ing, and,  as  I  believe,  a  direct  consequence  of 
that  action,  the   Governor    sends    a    special 
message  to  this  body.     It  purports  to  be  an 
earnest  recommendation  to  this  body  to  adopt 
a  resolution  which  shall  be  a  response  to  the 
offer  made  by  the   President  of  the   United 
States.     The  argument  in  favor  of  such  action 
is  based  upon  the  ground  of  our  obligations  to 
the  General  Government — upon  the  ground  of 
our  salvation.     It  has  been  admitted  by  the 
gentleman  from  Buchanan  that  the  offer  made 
by  Congress  is  one  of  unexampled  liberality, 
and  he  urges  us  for  our  own  sakes  to  adopt 
some  respectful  answer  to  the  resolution  of 
unexampled   liberality  adopted  by  Congress. 
Now,  what  is  it  proposed  to  do  ?     A  substitute 
is  offered,  and  it  barely  and  coolly  alludes  to 
the  action  of  Congress,  and  purports  to  be  not 
a  response  to  the  President,  but  to  Governor 
Gamble.     It  strikes  out   Governor  Gamble's 
own   words :    "  unexampled  liberality,"    and 
simply  says,  "  we  recognize  the  liberality  of 
Congress— which  in  decency  to  the  Governor 
could   not  be    avoided — and  then   gives   our 
reasons  for  not  having  taken  action.     We  are, 
then,  not  answering  the  Governor's  recommen- 
dation to  do  an  act  of  courtesy,  that  decency 
and  self-respect  requires  we  should   do,  but, 
slighting  it,  we  proceed  to  apologize  for  not 
having  done  something  last  week  ! 
This  Convention  knows  my  sentiments  upon 


242 


the  subject  on  which  we  acted  last  week.  I 
have  nothing  further  to  say  on  that  subject.  I 
shall  not  complain  here  of  the  action  of  the 
committee,  or  a  majority  of  the  committee^  in 
refusing  to  permit  discussion  on  the  sub- 
ject that  was  then  introduced,  but  I  do  believe, 
that,  by  our  action  then,  we  have  tenfold 
aggravated  discussion.  Certainly,  as  far  as 
those  gentlemen  are  concerned,  who,  in  good 
faith  and  honesty,  desiring  to  prevent  agitation, 
were  prevented  from  adopting  this  course,  they 
are  now  relieved  from  all  obligations  or 
restraints  in  this  respect,  at  least  as  far  as  the 
action  of  this  Convention  is  concerned.  But 
on  that  point  I  have  nothing  further  to  say.  I 
merely  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Con- 
vention  to  the  fact  that  the  proposition  now 
before  the  Convention  directly  ignores  the  very 
thing  which  the  Governor  requested  us  to  do. 
Now,  the  Convention  is  aware  that  I  submitted 
a  resolution,  and  asked  its  reference  to  a  com- 
mittee. If  gentlemen  will  read  it  they  will 
find  there  was  a  most  cordial  submission  on  my 
part  to  the  action  of  the  majority  of  this  Con- 
vention ;  that  the  resolution  excluded  any 
further  discussion  on  the  emancipation  ques- 
tion, and  that  it  directed  itself  precisely  to  the 
point  to  which  the  Governor  directed  it. 

Sir,  it  is  a  very  remarkable  thing  in  the 
history  of  this  session  of  the  Convention — and 
it  is  a  very  remarkable  thing,  which  the  records 
of  the  Convention  will  prove,  that  the  gentle- 
men who  have  most  disclaimed  the  desire  for 
agitation,  who  have  most  constantly  denounced 
agitation,  are  the  gentlemen  who  have  most 
persistently  forced  the  Convention  to  act  on 
the  very  subject  which  they  were  so  much 
afraid  of ;  in  proof  of  that  I  appeal  to  the 
records  and  debates  of  our  proceedings.  Now, 
if  the  Convention  chooses  to  carry  out  the 
action  which  it  recommended  by  the  report  of 
the  majority  of  the  committee,  and  which, 
though  based  on  the  one  I  had  the  honor  of 
submitting  to  the  committee,  has  struck  out,  in 
my  opinion,  two-thirds  of  the  courtesy  which 
was  in  it,  (but  which  I  shall  vote  for  simply 
because  it  is  the  best  I  can  possibly  hope  for,) 
why,  so  be  it.  But  I  ask  in  all  candor,  appeal- 
ing to  the  good  sense  of  the  Convention,  how 
far,  as  a  question  of  self-respect,  they  expect 
to  go  when  this  body,  by  assuming  to  answer 
a  proposition  of  the  Governor,  ignore  or  coldly 
allude  to  a  proposition  which  gentlemen  in 
debate  admit  to  be  one  of  unexampled  liberal- 
ity, but  which  by  their  votes  they  deny. 

Mr.  SAYRE.     It  seems  to  me  the  criticism 


upon  the  action  of  the  Convention  in  the  effort 
to  set  aside  the  reasons  given  to  us  in  the  special 
message,  are  not  very  well  founded.  Objection 
has  been  made  to  the  substitute,  but  what 
better,  further,  or  more  careful  response  could 
we  possibly  give  ?  As  to  the  complaint  that 
this  action  would  be  inconsistent  with  our 
record,  really,  I  am  afraid,  sir,  it  will  cause  a 
smile  on  the  part  of  every  member  who  hears 
the  objection.  If  there  has  been  any  particular 
record  with  which  it  would  be  inconsistent,  it 
would  be  very  difficult  to  show  it.  The  lan- 
guage used  in  the  Governor's  message  is  sub- 
stantially correct.  Our  main  object  has  been 
to  act  with  reference  to  the  purpose  for  which 
we  were  called  together,  and  if  other  things 
have  been  done,  they  amount  to  nothing  in 
comparison  to  the  main  action  of  this  Conven- 
tion since  it  was  called  into  existence.  But, 
sir,  I  simply  make  this  point  to  show  that  the 
proposition  as  now  presented  covers  the  whole 
ground,  and  that  the  Convention  can  act  upon 
it  without  any  violence  to  their  judgment.  For 
myself  I  do  not  feel  inclined  to  go  for  any 
other.  My  opinion  is  that  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  was  not  established  to  do 
away  with  slavery.  Our  fathers  did  not  es- 
tablish the  Government  for  any  such  purpose, 
and  any  such  scheme  or  proposition  is  uncon- 
stitutional. Sir,  property  is  above  and  beyond 
all  constitution  and  law.  It  does  seem  to  me 
that  this  proposition,  as  it  now  stands,  is 
sufficiently  courteous.  I  recognize  the  sincerity 
of  the  motives  of  the  President  and  Governor, 
but  I  cannot  think  that  either  Congress  or  the 
President  will  interfere  with  this  subject,  par- 
ticularly after  the  pledges  they  have  already 
given. 

Mr.  WOOLFOLK.  I  am  in  favor  of  the  reso- 
lutions introduced  by  the  committee,  because 
they  are  consistent  with  facts,  and  more 
responsive  (to  the  resolutions  of  Congress  than 
the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from  Buch- 
anan. What  member  on  this  floor  will  deny 
that  the  proposition  of  Congress  is  not  worthy 
of  due  consideration  ?  All  admit  that  it  is 
worthy  of  proper  consideration  ;  and  why  can 
we  not  admit  collectively  what  none  of  us 
individually  deny?  Can  any  of  us  deny,  too, 
that  the  proposition  is  not  liberal  ?  It  does 
not  propose  to  interfere  with  slavery  in  the 
States  without  the  consent  of  the  States — nor 
"even  then"  without  fair  compensation.  Is 
not  this  liberal?  We  should  remember  that  a 
mighty  party  at  the  North  desire  to  abolish 
slavery  without  the  consent  of  the  States  and 


243 


without  any  compensation.  This  proposition 
did  not  emanate  from  that  party — they  are 
opposed  to  it;  it  is  antagonistic  to  all  of  their 
principles.  We  should  remember  that  the 
mass  of  the  Northern  people  regard  the  insti- 
tution of  slavery  with  disfavor.  As  the 
gentleman  from  Buchanan  (Mr.  Stewart)  says, 
"  they  have  got  the  guns  in  their  hands  " — "  the 
institution  is  in  their  power."  And  when  I 
remember  the  passions  aroused  by  this  conflict, 
and  the  mighty  element  of  ultraism  at  the 
North,  I  do  commend  the  liberality  and  con- 
servatism which  does  not  propose  to  interfere 
with  the  institution  of  slavery,  without  the 
consent  of  the  States,  and  without  fair  .compen- 
sation. I  do  not  mean  to  intimate  that  I  am 
favorable  to  the  proposition  of  Congress,  but 
it  should  be  treated  with  proper  respect.  I 
believe  that  treating  this  proposition  in  this 
manner  will  do  more  to  destroy  abolitionism 
than  any  other  action  the  Convention  can  take. 
If  they  believed  the  States  were  willing  to 
accept  this  proposition,  they  could  not,  with 
any  show  of  justice,  forcibly  abolish  slavery 
without  compensation  and  without  the  consent 
of  the  States.  The  idea,  too,  of  paying  for  the 
slaves  would  soon  drive  them  from  their  ultra 
anti-slavery  principles.  To  treat  this  propo- 
sition with  disrespect  will  alienate  many 
conservative  anti-slavery  men  at  the  North, 
and  drive  them  into  the  ultra  party.  For  these 
reasons  I  shall  vote  for  the  resolutions  offered 
by  the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  SOL  SMITH.  Mr.  President,  no  member 
having  seen  fit  to  take  notice  of  the  remarks  of 
the  gentleman  from  Saline,  (Mr.  Marmaduke,) 
I  feel  impelled  to  enter  my  decided  dissent  to 
his  assertion  that  the  Governor  has  committed 
a  gross  outrage  on  propriety  by  sending  in  this 
message.  I  cannot  sit  here  and  by  my  silence 
appear  to  consent  to  the  justice  of  such  a 
charge. 

What  are  the  facts?  The  President  had 
recommended  and  the  Congress  had  passed  a 
resolution  to  the  effect  that  the  United  States 
ought  to  co-operate  with  any  State  which  may 
adopt  a  system  of  gradual  emancipation,  giving 
to  such  State  compensation  for  the  inconveni- 
ence produced  by  such  change  of  s)'stem.  One 
of  my  colleagues  (Judge  Breckinridge)  intro- 
duced an  ordinance  intended  to  be  a  response 
to  this  offer  of  the  General  Government,  which 
the  Governor  has  justly  characterized  as  an 
act  of  unexampled  liberality.  What  was  done 
with  that  ordinance?  Without  permitting  a 
word  to  be  said,  for  or  against  it,  except  what 


was  said  and  so  well  said  by  the  member  who 
introduced  it — and  that  speech  was  only  toler- 
ated because  the  mover  had  the  right  to  the 
floor,  and  could  not,  under  parliamentary  rules, 
be  deprived  of  it  until  the  expiration  of  his 
hour — refusing  the  favor  asked  by  both  of  our 
Senators  in  Congress  to  be  heard  briefly,  as 
they  were  obliged  to  leave  for  Washington  next 
morning — the  majority  unceremoniously  tabled 
it,  or,  to  use  the  classical  language  of  the 
Republican  newspaper,  "  killed  it  at  first  pop." 

Is  it  strange  that  the  Governor  should  think 
that  a  somewhat  different  treatment  was  due  to 
a  proposition  made  in  all  kindness?  So  far 
from  the  message  being  a  gross  outrage,  or  any 
outrage  at  all,  I  disagree  so  far  with  the 
salty  gentleman  as  to  consider  the  action  of  his 
Excellency  eminently  judicious  and  proper. 

B.ut  while  I  cordially  endorse  the  language 
of  the  Governor  as  to  the  unexampled  liberality 
of  the  President  and  Congress,  I  can  find  no 
warrant  in  the  Constitution  to  carry  out  the 
contemplated  plan.  Besides,  the  next  President 
and  a  future  Congress  may  be  of  opinion  that 
the  United  State?  ought  not  to  do  the  very  thing 
the  present  Congress  and  President  think 
"ought"  to  be  done.  For  my  own  part,  I 
don't  see  why  the  United  States  should  be 
expected  to  aid  us  in  getting  rid  of  slaveYy, 
which  is  a  State  institution,  and  exclusively 
under  State  control.  Congress  and  the  Presi- 
dent have  rightfully  nothing  to  do  with  it,  yet 
their  kind  and  liberal  offer  should  be  treated 
respectfully. 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  about  the  power 
of  this  Convention  to  submit  an  emancipation 
ordinance  to  the  people  for  their  adoption  or 
rejection.  I  admit  freely  we  were  not  sent 
here  to  pass  an  emancipation  ordinance,  or  even 
to  submit  such  an  ordinance  to  the  people  j  for, 
assuredly,  the  subject  of  emancipation  was  not 
discussed  in  my  district  during  the  canvass  for 
delegates  ;  but  while  I  would  riot  like  to  vote 
directly  upon  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  of 
that  kind,  (being  uninstructed  upon  the  sub- 
ject,) I  should  feel  no  hesitation  in  voting  to 
submit  such  an  ordinance  to  the  people  for  their 
adoption  or  rejection. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  commissioners 
of  the  several  States,  appointed  (by  the  Legis- 
latures) for  the  purpose  of  amending  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  without  a  particle 
of  power  to  form  a  new  Government,  did  go  on 
and  frame  the  Constitution  under  which  this 
people  have  lived  and  prospered  for  eighty 
years.  The  Constitution  so  framed  had  no 


244 


vitality,  however,  until  adopted  by  the  PEOPLE 
through  their  Conventions,  who  breathed  into 
it  the  breath  of  life.  We  have  an  undoubted 
right  in  the  same  way  to  frame  an  ordinance 
of  emancipation,  and  to  submit  it  to  our  people 
for  adoption  or  rejection  ;  and  if,  as  is  said  by 
some,  there  is  a  radical  movement  on  foot  to 
abolish  slavery  immediately  in  this  State,  and 
without  compensation  to  owners  of  slaves,  it 
appears  to  me  that  a  conservative  body,  such  as 
I  take  this  to  be,  could  not  do  better  than  to 
submit  to  the  voters  a  conservative  plan  which 
would  eventually  rid  the  State  of  this  peculiar 
institution.  Such  a  plan  could  be  devised,  and 
slavery  could  be  got  rid  of  without  cost  to  the 
State  or  the  United  States,  and  without  causing 
any  serious  "inconvenience"  either. 

I  announce  myself  as  a  gradual  emancipa- 
tionist, and  do  not  intend  to  join  in  any  radical 
movement,  if  such  be  made ;  on  the  contrary 

[Here  the  hammer  fell.] 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on  agree- 
ing to  the  amendment  offered  by  the  gentleman 
from  Carroll  (Mr.  Ray)  to  the  substitute 
offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Buchanan. 

The  vote  was  then  taken,  and  resulted — ayes 
19,  noes  46. 

So  the  amendment  was  disagreed  to. 
Mr.  BIRCH.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.) 
I  shall  vote  for  the  amendment  of  my  colleague 
because  it  is  the  very  best  I  can  do.  Whether 
carried  or  not,  I  shall  then  vote  for  the  substitute 
of  the  gentleman  from  Buchanan,  as  the  very 
next  best  I  can  do.  It  is  impossible  to  decide 
the  question  now.  No  man  can  do  it  in  justice 
to  his  feelings,  and,  at  the  appropriate  time,  ] 
shall  offer  an  amendment  which  I  think  wil 
express  the  exact  truth. 

Mr.  BUSH.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.)  ] 
now  for  the  first  time  understand  the  words  o 
a  gentleman  on  this  floor  a  few  days  ago,  and 
which  then  produced  a  smile,  that  he  voted  one 
way,  but  wished  it  had  resulted  in  another  way 
I  am,  of  course, for  voting  down  all  proposition! 
and  voting  finally  for  the  resolutions  offere* 
by  my  friend  from  St.  Louis.  But  I  woul< 
wish,  if  it  were  true,  that  the  sentiment 
spoken  on  this  floor  are  the  sentiments  of  th 
majority  of  the  people  oE  Missouri.  I  woul 
wish  for  the  good  of  Missouri  that  they  coul 
all  be  voted  down.  I  vote  no. 

Mr.  CALHOUN.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote. 
Before  I  cast  my  vote  I  wish  to  make  a  fev 
remarks.  With  all  respect  to  this  body,  an 
to  our  high  functionaries  both  State  and  na 
tional,  for  whom  I  have  the  highest  regard, 


would  say  we  are  transcending  our  duty  entire- 
in  this  body.  This  question  is  one  of  mo- 
mentous importance,  and  it  is  one  in  which 
very  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  State  is 
nterested.  It  has  been  sprung  upon  us  unex- 
ectedly,  at  least  to  myself.  Now  it  seems  to 
me  in  the  very  inaugural  of  the  President  of 
tie  United  States,  he  said  he  was  opposed  to 
ae  institution  of  slavery  in  the  Territories, 
nd  that  he  never  would  interfere  with  it  in 
he  Territories  where  it  existed.  Another  rea- 
on  I  may  give  from  the  message  of  our  pres- 
nt  Governor  : 

"  If  the  Convention,  assembled  from  all  parts 
if  the  State,  is  satisfied  that  in  the  present  con- 
lition  of  the  public  mind  any  proposition  upon 
he  subject  of  emancipation  would  produce  ex- 
itement  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the  State, 
he  statement  of  that  as  a  reason  for  declining 
o  act  upon  the  offer  of  the  Government  ought 
;o  satisfy  every  person  that  such  declension 
s  not  intended  as  any  disrespect  to  any  other 
>ody  or  officer.'' 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  think  the  position  that 
my  friend  from  Buchanan  has  taken  is  the 
Droper  one,  and  I  shall  support  his  proposi- 
ion,  not  from  any  disrespect  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States  or  our  Governor,  but  be- 
cause I  believe  this  is  a  question  that  should 
be  left  to  the  people  of  Missouri.  If  they 
want  slavery  abolished,  they  can  speak  out 
and  act  for  themselves.  How  can  they  do  it  ? 
By  assembling  a  Convention  purposely  for  the 
consideration  of  the  subject.  But  we  are  not 
here  to  dictate  to  the  people  of  Missouri  what 
they  shall  do.  I  am  ready  to  say  that  this 
proposition  is  a  liberal  one.  There  is  no  ques- 
tion about  that,  but  it  is  wrong  to  agitate  the 
slavery  question  in  Missouri,  from  the  fact 
that  Missouri  has  proved  herself  loyal  to  the 
General  Government,  and,  therefore,  his  Ex- 
cellency the  President  of  the  United  States 
could  take  no  exceptions  to  our  action  here, 
because  we  mean  no  disrespect  to  him  when 
we  ask  to  be  excused  from  the  consideration 
of  the  proposition  adopted  by  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States.  Now,  gentlemen,  I  hold 
we  are  doing  wrong.  We  are  exciting  the 
public  mind  and  dictating  to  the  people  of 
Missouri  what  they  shall  do  with  their  private 
property.  If  any  gentleman  feels  conscien- 
tious on  the  subject  of  owning  slaves,  he  can 
emancipate  them  under  the  present  law ;  but, 
sir,  because  he  has  a  desire  so  to  do,  it  is  no  rea- 
son why  he  should  compel  me  to  do  it.  Further- 
more,! oppose  any  general  scheme  of  emanci- 


245 


pation  on  humane  principles.  I  say  we  would 
be  doing  great  injustice  to  the  slaves.  Those 
who  have  good  masters  are  in  afar  better  con- 
dition than  we  could  possibly  place  them. 
Look  at  the  State  of  Ohio  and  elsewhere,  and 
you  find  the  negroes  are  poverty  stricken  and 
in  a  most  miserable  condition.  I  passed  through 
that  State  in  1836,  and  I  found  numbers  that 
had  been  manumitted  by  my  neighbors  in 
Western  Virginia.  They  were  all  in  a  most 
destitute  condition,  and  at  Chillicothe  they 
hovered  around  me  and  said  they  would  remain 
slaves  with  me  for  life.  I  told  them  I  could  not 
take  them.  Now  this  Convention  has  no  right 
to  dictate  to  the  people  of  the  State  or  tell 
them  what  they  shall  do,  and  we  are  travelling 
entirely  away  from  our  record  in  doing  so.  I 
hope  the  amendment  of  the  gentleman  from 
Buchanan  will  be  adopted. 

Mr.  DONIPHAN.  (In  explanation  of  his 
vote.)  Our  Constitution  has  guaranteed  to  us 
the  right  to  hold  slaves,  and  there  I  ain  willing 
and  anxious  to  leave  it.  But  if  circumstances, 
outside  of  legislative  enactments,  were  to  indi- 
cate that  slavery  is  to  be  eradicated  from  the 
State,  and  the  people  think  proper  to  sell  their 
negroes,  or  liberate  them  for  a  sum  to  be  paid 
by  the  General  Government,  then  it  is,  of 
course,  a  pecuniary  matter,  and  it  is  certainly 
eminently  liberal  on  the  part  of  the  General 
Government.  Therefore  I  shall  oppose  the 
motion  to  strike  out  these  words.  I  think  it  a 
liberal  proposition.  It  is  a  mere  pecuniary 
one,  and  while  I  think  emancipation  should  be 
left  to  its  own  course,  still  I  can  but  think  the 
proposition  of  the  General  Government  is  a 
liberal  one,  and  I  therefore  vote  no. 

Mr.  DUNN.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.) 
For  the  reasons  mentioned  by  the  gentleman 
from  Clay  (Mr.  Doniphan)  I  vote  no. 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  (In  explanation  of  his 
vote.)  It  is  well  understood  that  I  shall  vote 
against  the  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from 
Buchanan,  but,  if  that  proposition  is  to  be 
adopted  by  the  Convention,  I  want  to  see  it 
adopted  in  such  shape  that  it  will  be  consistent 
with  itself,  and  that  it  shall  not  undertake  to 
do  that  which  it  does  not  do.  In  order  to 
make  it  consistent,  I  vote  aye  on  this  amend- 
ment. 

Mr.  HOWELL.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.) 
The  substitute  is  not  precisely  what  I  would 
undertake  to  offer  if  I  were  to  draw  one,  but  I 
am  satisfied  we  will  have  to  choose  between 
the  substitute  and  the  majority  report;  I  there- 
fore vote  no. 


Mr.  LONG.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.)  I 
believe  a  large  majority  of  the  members  of  this 
Convention  think  that  the  liberal  offer  made 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  Con- 
gress to  the  people  of  Missouri  is  entitled  to  a 
courteous  response.  Then,  as  remarked  by  the 
gentleman  from  Cooper  (Mr.  Douglass),  the 
only  question  in  my  mind  is  the  most  appro- 
priate language  for  that  response.  I  have  lis- 
tened with  some  attention  to  the  report  of  the 
majority  of  the  committee,  and  I  also  paid 
close  attention  to  the  resolution  offered  by  the 
gentleman  from  Buchanan,  and  to  the  amend- 
ment offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Carroll 
(  Mr.  Ray).  But  the  resolutions  offered  by  the 
gentleman  from  St.  Louis  seem  to  my  mind  a 
more  appropriate  response  than  any  that  has 
been  suggested,  and  I  shall  therefore  vote 
against  all  others. 

Mr.  ORR.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.)  If 
I  mistake  not,  the  substitute  quotes  a  portion 
of  the  message  of  Governor  Gamble  as  an  ex- 
cuse for  our  non-action  now.  I  say  to  the 
Convention,  that,  if  you  pass  sach  a  thing  as 
that,  you  will  not  only  do  violence  to  your- 
selves but  injustice  to  Governor  Gamble,  who 
never  intended  that  this  extract  from  his  mes- 
sage should  be  construed  in  this  way.  Let 
me  read  from  another  portion  of  his  mes- 
sage: 

"  If  in  the  understanding  of  the  Convention 
it  was  sot  contemplated  by  the  people  when 
electing  this  body,  that  it  should  ever  act  upon 
the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  State,  and  there- 
fore such  action  would  be  improper;  or  if  the 
Convention  believes  that  the  public  mind  is  so 
agitated  already  that  the  proposal  of  any 
scheme  of  emancipation  would  produce  dan- 
gerous excitement,  there  can  be  no  objection 
to  assigning  either  as  a  reason  for  abstaining 
from  action  upon  the  subject,  and  leaving  it 
for  a  different  body  or  another  time." 

Now  the  Governor  never  intended  that  the 
reasons  that  have  been  cut  out  of  his  message 
should  be  used  for  any  such  purpose  as  is  here 
proposed,  and  the  course  of  the  gentleman 
from  Buchanan  in  this  respect,  reminds  me  of 
a  magistrate  I  once  read  of.  The  law  book 
had  laid  down  certain  forms  of  administering 
an  oath  to  a  witness,  u  You,  John  Jones,  do 
solemnly  swear,"  &c.,  and  whenever  the  ma- 
gistrate had  occasion  to  administer  the  oath  to 
the  witness^he  always  said,  "You,  John  Jones, 
do  solemnly  swear,"  &c.  I  repeat,  the  Gov- 
ernor never  intended  that  any  portion  of  his 
message  should  be  applied  as  the  gentleman 


246 


from  Buchanan  proposes  to  apply  it.     I  shall 
therefore  vote  no. 

Mr.  PHILLIPS.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote. ) 
The  point  is  attempted  to  be  made  by  members 
on  this  floor,  that  the  real  issue  now  presented 
for  the  action  of  the  Convention  is,  whether 
we  will  receive,  entertain,  or  act  upon  a  pro- 
position for  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves.     I 
do  not  consider  that  that  is  the  question  before 
this  body.     I  do  not  believe  that  the  Conven- 
tion is  called  upon  here  to  act  upon  the  sub- 
ject of   emancipation  at  all,  and   the  majority 
report  simply  presents  the   reason  why  we  do 
not  think  it  fit  or  proper  to  act  on  the  subject 
of  emancipation  j  and  I  do  not  hold  that  it  is 
fair  to  be  put  in  the  attitude  here,  by  giving  a 
negative  vote,  of  saying,  I  am  in  favor  of  the 
Convention  acting  on  the  subject  of  emancipa- 
tion.    The  whole  effect  of  putting  the  substi- 
tute in   its   present  shape,  is  to   present  this 
Convention  in  a  false  attitude,  and  it  is  only  a 
subterfuge,  an  evasion  of  what  is  presented  by 
the  majority  report.     The  majority  report  ex- 
pressly declares  that  we  do  not  feel  authorized 
to  act  on  the  subject  of  emancipation.     But  as 
a  further  objection  to  the  substitute,  it  puts 
the  Governor   of  the  State  in  a  false  attitude. 
The    Governor,   as  I  understand    it,  is    using 
the  arguments  here  quoted  from  his  message 
for  an  entirely  different  purpose  from  what  is 
intended  by  this  substitute.     He  uses  the  lan- 
guage here  quoted  from  his  special  message, 
as  I  understand  it,  as  a  reason  why  the  Con- 
vention  should   not   act  upon  the  subject  of 
emancipation,  as  a  justification  for  their  refu- 
sal to  entertain  the  proposition  presented  by 
the  gentleman  from  St.  Louis  a  few  day  ago  ; 
but  he  does  not  assign  that  as  a  reason  why 
this  Convention  should  refuse  to  respond  in  a 
respectful  and  direct  manner  to  the  proposition 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States.     The 
substitute,  sir,  is  evasive.     It  is  a  subterfuge. 
It  is  not  directly  responding  to   the  subject 
matter  before  the  Convention  for  its  consider- 
ation.    The  majority  report  is  direct.     It  is  a 
respectful  response.     It  says  we  do  not  feel 
authorized  to  act  upon  the  subject,  and  because 
the  majority  report  is  directly  responsive  to  the 
issue  presented  to  the  Convention,  I  shall  vote 
for  it;  and  for  the  contrary  reason,  and  for  the 
reason    that    I    have    assigned,   I  shall  vote 
against  the  substitute. 

Mr.  SHACKELFORD  of  Howard.  (In  expla- 
nation of  his  vote.)  I  dissent  from  the  words 
used  in  the  original  resolution,  to  the  effect 
that  the  proposition  of  Congress  is  one  of  un- 


exampled liberality.  I  represent  a  large 
laveholding  distiict,  and  I  say,  with  the  full 
knowledge  that  I  represent  the  views  of  my 
constituents  upon  this  subject,  that  they  do  not 
consider  the  proposition  liberal.  Why  ?  They 
do  not  consider  it  as  such  because  it  is  an  ap- 
peal to  their  cupidity.  If  slavery  in  itself  is 
wrong  and  a  Christian  duty  impels  them  to 
set  free  their  slaves,  then  I  say  it  is  an  insult 
io  offer  to  do  what  their  duty  requires.  Then, 
f  it  is  a  duty  to  their  country  to  emancipate,  or 
if  the  preservation  of  their  country  requires 
that  they  shall  liberate  their  slaves,  then  they 
will  be  ready  to  do  it  without  any  mercenary 
considerations.  It  is  not  liberal,  but  it  is  an 
appeal  to  their  cupidity,  and  therefore  I  vote 
no. 

Mr.  STEWART.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.) 
I  am  one  of  those  who  believe,  as  has  been 
stated  on  this  floor  time  and  again,  that  the  in- 
stitution of  slavery  is  entirely  a  domestic  in- 
stitution which  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  has  no  right  to  interfere  with.  I  have 
voted  for  no  proposition  here  squinting  towards 
the  proposition  that  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  has  any  right  to  emancipate  the 
slaves.  I  believe,  however,  as  a  financial  ar- 
rangement it  is  a  proper  question  to  go  before 
the  people  of  the  State,  and  if  the  slaves  ever 
are  emancipated,  I  believe  it  should  be  done 
with  a  due  regard  to  the  slaveholders  them- 
selves. I  am  one  of  those  who  believe  this 
war  was  not  prosecuted  on  the  part  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  abolish  slavery  or  to  interfere  with 
the  institution  at  all  in  the  States. 

The  vote  was  then  announced. 

Mr.  HALL  of  B.  As  some  gentlemen  seem  to 
think  that  my  substitute  disagrees  with  the 
views  of  Governor  Gamble,  I  move  to  strike 
out  the  words,  "  as  expressed  by  Governor 
Gamble." 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Mr.  MARMADUKE.  I  move  to  strike  out  of 
the  resolution  all  after  the  word  "emancipa- 
tion." I  desire  to  strike  out  the  extracts  from 
the  message  of  Governor  Gamble,  because  I  do 
not  endorse  the  argument  made  by  the  Gover- 
nor. I  desire  to  vote  for  the  resolution,  but 
canr»ot  do  it  with  the  argument  attached. 

The  motion  was  disagreed  to. 

Mr.  DUNN.  I  move  to  strike  out  all  after 
the  word  "resolved,"  and  insert 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  motion  is  not  in 
order. 

Mr.  DUNN.  I  will  read  my  proposition  for 
information  : 


247 


Resolved,  That  the  proposition  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  Congress  is  entitled  to  a  respectful 
answer,  but  the  Convention  is  not  inclined  to 
act  on  the  proposition,  believing  such  action 
would  produce  excitement  dangerous  to  the 
people  of  the  State. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on  agree- 
ing to  the  substitute  of  the  gentleman  from 
Buchanan. 

The  ayes  and  noes  were  demanded  and 
the  vote  resulted,  ayes  30,  noes  35,  as  fol- 
lows : 

AYES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Birch,  Brown, 
Calhoun,  Comingo,  Doniphan,Donnell,  Dunn, 
Drake,  Flood,  Hall  of  Buch'n,  Howell,  Hudg- 
ens,  Irwin,  Jamison,  Kidd,  Marmaduke,  Mc- 
Dowell, Matson,  Pipkin,  Rankin,  Ray,  Ross, 
Ritchey,  Sayre,  Shackelford  of  H.,  Sheeley, 
Welch,  and  Woodson — 30. 

NOES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckinridge, 
Bridge,  Bush,  Collier,  Douglass,  Eitzen,  Gra- 
velly, Hendricks,  Hitchcork,  Holmes,  How, 
Isbell,  Jackson,  Johnson,  Leeper,  Linton, 
Long,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McCormack,  Mc- 
Ferran,  Meyer,  Orr,  Phillips,  Pomeroy,  Scott, 
Shackelford  of  St.  Louis,  Shanklin,  Smith  of 
Linn,  Smith  of  St.  Louis,  Stewart,  Woolfolk, 
and  Vanbuskirk — 35. 

Mr.  ALLEN,  (in  explanation  of  his  vote).  I 
prefer,  Mr.  President,  to  vote  for  the  resolu- 
tions reported  by  the  majority  of  the  commit- 
tee. I  could  vote,  under  similar  circumstances, 
for  the  one  offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Bu- 
chanan, and  just  as  readily.  They  both,  as  I 
understand  them,  embody  the  truth  in  reference 
to  the  position  of  a  majority  of  this  Conven- 
tion ;  but  I  have  always  preferred,  when  a  res- 
olution or  ordinance  was  offered,  if  the  major- 
ity report  answered  the  same  purpose,  and 
contained  the  same  principles  as  the  substitute, 
to  vote  for  the  majority  report  in  preference  to 
any  other  ;  and  in  giving  my  vote  upon  this  pro- 
position, I  do  not  do  it  with  the  understanding 
that  I  do  not  endorse  the  principles,  and,  in  ef- 
fect, all  that  is  said  in  the  substitute.  But  as 
I  conceive  that  the  report  of  the  majority  of 
the  committee  contains  about  the  same  senti- 
ments, and  is  about  all  that  we  should  say  at 
this  time,  I  shall  vote  no. 

Mr.  BOGY,  (in  explanation  of  his  vote).  I 
am  really  sorry,  sir,  that  I  cannot  support  the 
substitute  of  the  gentleman  from  Buchanan. 
I  have  read  both,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
resolution  of  the  gentleman  from  Buchanan 
does  not  cover  the  point  entirely  that  we  are 
aiming  at,  and  having  a  preference  for  the 


other,  and  believing  it  more  appropriate  than 
the  substitute,  I  vote  no. 

Mr.  MARMADUKE,  (in  explanation  of  his 
vote).  I  desire  simply  to  say  that  I  protest 
against  the  argument  that  is  used  in  support  of 
the  resolution  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Buchanan.  I  further  protest  against  the  state- 
ment that  the  proposition  of  Congress  is  a  lib- 
eral one  ;  but  deeming  this  preferable  to  the 
majority  report,  and  that  we  must  choose  be- 
tween the  two,  I  vote  aye. 

Mr.  MCCORMACK,  (in  explanation  of  his 
vote).  After  due  reflection  upon  the  matter, 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  original  report,  as 
it  came  from  the  committee,  is  the  most  ap- 
propriate one  for  this  body  to  adopt.  There 
has  been  a  good  deal  of  debate  on  the  resolu- 
tion. There  has  been  a  reference  made  to  the 
action  of  this  body,  when  an  application  was 
made,  on  the  part  of  a  gentleman  from  Georgia, 
to  address  the  Convention,  at  its  first  session. 
I  voted  in  favor  of  allowing  that  gentleman  to 
address  this  body;  but  if  any  gentleman  sup- 
poses that  I,  in  voting  that  he  should  have  the 
liberty  of  addressing  this  body,  was  in  favor 
of  the  principles  he  inculcated,  he  very  much 
misconstrues  what  my  real  intentions  and 
views  were.  I  did  it  out  of  courtesy  to  Geor- 
gia, who  had  been  a  sister  State  of  ours,  and 
who  had  accredited  a  gentleman  to  this  State  to 
address  this  body.  I  thought  it  was  due  to  the 
State  of  Georgia  to  treat  her  Commissioner 
with  respect,  and,  while  I  voted  for  that  gen- 
tleman to  address  this  body,  and,  while  I  was 
willing  he  should  address  this  body,  I  was  just 
as  much  opposed  to  the  doctrines  he  inculcated 
as  any  man  could  be.  I  am  in  favor  of  this 
Convention  and  the  people  of  Missouri  reply- 
ing, in  respectful  language,  to  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  in  reference  to  this  mat- 
ter, and  I  think  we  owe  it  to  ourselves,  as  well 
as  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  to 
answer  this  appeal  to  us,  made  by  Congress 
and  the  President,  in  respectful  language.  I 
do  not  think,  sir,  it  should  be  treated  with  con- 
tempt, neglect  or  disregard.  It  does  not  fol- 
low, sir,  that  because  I  am  in  favor  of  this  that 
I  am  in  favor  of  emancipation  in  Missouri, 
but  it  is  because  I  believe  the  acts  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  towards  us  justi- 
fy us  in  saying  that  we  owe  it  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  to  treat  that  Gov- 
ernment with  profound  respect.  What  is  the 
indebtedness  we  have  as  a  State  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  ?  Since  we  have  had 
existence  as  a  State,  and  even  prior  thereto, 


248 


that  Government  has  protected  us  with  arms 
and  money,  defended  us  on  the  frontiers,  and 
protected  us  when  a  Territory  from  the  barba- 
rous savages  that  surrounded  us.  From  that 
day  down  to  this,  every  act  of  the  Government 
has  been  that  of  kindness.  Sir,  they  have  not 
only  done  these  acts,  but  they  have  assisted  us 
in  building  up  schools,  and  railroads,  and  vari- 
ous internal  improvements,  and  I  repeat  that 
every  act  of  the  Government  towards  the  peo- 
ple of  Missouri  has  been  of  kindness.  There- 
fore, it  is  proper  and  right  for  us  to  be  respect- 
ful in  our  language  towards  that  friend  of  ours. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  Government  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  during  the  war  that  has  desolated  our 
State,  all  of  us  would  have  been  driven  in  exile 
from  our  homes.  I  say  the  people  of  Missouri 
owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  that,  in  my  opinion,  they 
never  will  be  able  to  pay. 

I  wish  to  allude  to  the  remark  of  one  gen- 
tleman this  morning,  who  said  that  this  was  an 
appeal  to  the  cupidity  of  his  constituents.  I 
cannot  so  understand  it.  It  simply  declares 
that  if  the  people  desire  to  rid  themselves  of 
slavery  the  Government  will  co-operate  with 
them,  and  compensate  them  for  the  inconveni- 
ence to  which  they  may  be  subjected  by  such 
a  change  of  system.  [Here  the  hammer  fell.] 

Mr.  HITCHCOCK.  An  omission  occurs  in 
the  resolution  adopted  by  Congress,  as  report- 
ed by  the  committee.  It  should  read,  "giving 
to  such  State  aid,  to  be  used  in  its  discretion," 
&c. 

Mr.  RAY,  (in  explanation  of  his  vote).  I 
shall  vote  for  this  substitute,  and  in  doing  so  I 
do  not  desire  it  to  be  understood  that  I  thereby 
endorse  that  part  of  it  which  recognizes  the 
act  of  the  President  or  Congress  as  one  of 
liberality  to  the  State.  I  do  not  so  regard  it; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  regard  it  as  an  act  of  un- 
warrantable interference  with  our  domestic 
affairs,  and  for  that  reason  I  am  opposed  to  it. 

The  vote  was  then  announced. 

Mr.  HUDGENS  asked  and  obtained  leave  to 
publish  the  following  speech  in  the  debates, 
without  reading  it  to  the  Convention  : 

Mr.  HUDGENS.  Mr.  President,  for  the  first 
time  during  this  session  of  the  .Convention, 
I  claim  the  attention  of  the  house  while  I 
briefly  place  myself  upon  the  record  with 
regard  to  the  important  measures  under  con- 
sideration. I  have  never  been  suspected  of 
avoiding  responsibility  as  a  representative  of 
my  constituents,  and  when  a  faithful  historian 
shall  write  the  doings  of  this  body,  and  the 


sovereign  people  shall  again  have  the  liberty 
to  call  us  to  account  for  our  stewardship,  I 
desire  to  stand  or  fall  by  my  record.  In  the 
three  former  sessions  of  this  Convention  I 
have  placed  myself  fully  and  fairly  upon  the 
the  record  upon  every  measure  j  and,  although 
I  have  had  the  misfortune  (if  misfortune  it  be) 
to  be  in  the  minority  on  most  of  the  important 
issues,  I  am  gratified  to  know  that,  since  our 
last  session,  my  district  has  been  fully  canvas- 
sed by  my  opponents,  in  my  absence,  with 
eighteen  circulating  petitions,  and  only  seven 
hundred,  out  of  seven  thousand  voters,  are  found 
to  oppose  my  former  representation.  These 
seven  hundred  voters  have,  through  their  special 
representative,  my  colleague  from  Holt  (Mr. 
Vanbuskirk,)  who  seems  to  have  but  little  other 
business  in  this  Convention  than  to  make  charg- 
es against  my  fidelity  to  my  constituents,  at 
each  session,  and  then  fall  back  into  pitiable 
obscurity,  presented  a  petition  to  this  Conven- 
tion for  my  expulsion.  About  one-half  of  these 
petitioners  I  know  well,  the  other  half  I  be- 
lieve are  fictitious  names. 

As  to  those  I  know,  I  am  glad  they  have  en- 
rolled themselves  against  me,  and  informed 
this  Convention  and  the  people  at  large  that  I 
am  not  the  man  to  represent  them.  They  know 
me  well,  and  have  known  me  long,  and  they 
are  correct  in  saying  that  I  am  not  the  man  to 
represent  them  in  this  Convention.  They 
know  I  am  not  a  man  of  violence  or  bloodshed  ; 
that  I  am,  and  have  ever  been  for  peace,  and 
opposed  to  all  schemes  of  outlawry  in  my  dis- 
trict ;  that  I  have  no  fellowship  with  men  who 
seize  their  neighbor's  hard  earnings  by  force, 
without  shadow  of  right,  because  they  differ 
in  opinion  on  the  question  of  slavery,  and  their 
own  strong  desire  to  acquire  property  without 
compensation  to  the  owners  thereof.  My  dis- 
trict has  been  deprived,  within  the  lastyear,  ac- 
cording to  various  estimates,  of  not  less  than 
$2,000,000  worth  of  property.  And  conspic- 
uous among  these  petitioners  are  the  names  of 
many  charged  with  taking  their  neighbors'  pro- 
perty by  force  and  arms,  contrary  to  the  peace 
and  dignity  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 

I  know  that  I  represent  the  will  of  two- 
thirds  of  my  district  to-day;  and  that,  while 
every  crime  known  to  the  laws  of  this  land 
has  been  committed  within  the  district,  in  the 
last  year,  those  whose  principles  I  represent 
have  been  quiet,  peaceable,  law-abiding  citi- 
zens, praying  to  be  let  alone  in  the  enjoyment 
of  their  constitutional  rights.  They  have  .«hed 
no  innocent  blood,  nor  robbed  widows  and  or- 


249 


phans  of  their  daily  bread  j  they  have  deprived 
no  man  of  life,  liberty  or  property,  but  have 
stayed  at  home,  when  permitted — eaten  their 
own  bread,  worn  their  own  clothes,  and  rode 
their  own  horses. 

But  it  is  further  charged  by  said  petitioners 
that  I  have  not  been  in  my  district  for  twelve 
months.  I  need  only  refer  to  my  former 
speeches  for  a  full  explanation  of  the  cause  of 
my  absence.  For  the  special  benefit  of  these 
petitioners,  I  will  remind  them,  that,  thousands 
of  years  ago,  a  certain  man  named  Lot  was 
compelled  to  leave  his  home  and  flee  to  the 
mountains,  without  permission  to  look  back 
on  its  ruins,  from  the  sins  of  better  men  than 
drove  me  and  mine  from  our  homes. 

But  as  the  special  committee,  appointed  to 
consider  this  petition  have  reported  against  the 
petitioners  upon  their  own  showing,  without 
any  defence  from  me,  I  will  not  further  trou- 
ble the  house  with  the  matter,  but  allow  my 
friend  from  Holt  to  represent  his  petitioners, 
while  I  shall  claim  the  honor  of  representing 
the  remaining  six  thousand  constituents  who 
endorse  my  former  action. 

The  journals  of  this  Convention  will  bear 
me  testimony  that  I  have  always  opposed  every 
infraction  of  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  this 
State  and  United  States,  whether  it  came  from 
Northern  abolitionist  or  Southern  fanatic.  I 
have  equally  opposed  coercion,  because  I  be- 
lieved it  was  an  element  that  did  not  belong  to 
our  republican  form  of  government,  but  in  con- 
flict with  its  fundamental  principles.  I  believ- 
ed that  its  strength  was  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people,  and  not  in  the  bayonet;  that  it  was  a 
Government  of  compromise,  formed  by  mutu- 
al concessions  of  the  thirteen  original  colonies, 
for  common  defence  against  foreign  powers, 
and  that  the  power  of  the  General  Government 
was  never  intended  to  be  used  against  its  own 
colonies  or  States.  The  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence expressly  avows,  as  a  fundamental 
principle  upon  which  the  Government  was 
being  established,  that  no  government  could  or 
would  be  tolerated  unless  by  the  consent  of  the 
governed.  No  other  government  could  have 
been  established,  and  it  was  for  this  principle 
of  self-government  that  Washington  fought, 
and  freemen  died.  I  opposed  it,  because  I  was 
not  a  man  of  war,  notwithstanding  I  admit  the 
right  of  revolution.  I  have,  for  years  past, 
abandoned  a  lucrative  profession,  and  pro- 
claimed to  my  fellow-citizens  the  <f  glad  ti- 
dings of  peace  on  earth,  and  good  will  towards 
men,"  without  earthly  compensation  or  reward. 


I  am  opposed  to  all  wars,  except  the  one  in 
which  I  have  engaged  all  my  life,  against  the 
"arch-traitor"  and  his  ''unholy  angels." 

When  the  "Provisional  Government"  was 
deemed  necessary  by  a  majority  of  this  Con- 
vention, about  one  year  ago,  I  opposed  it  for 
reasons  then  given  on  this  floor.  But  when 
established,  I  then  said,  as  I  now  say,  that, 
however  much  I  might  disapprove  of  its  policy 
and  illegality,  I  would  not  resist  it,  except  at 
the  ballot-box.  As  Governor  Jackson  had 
been  driven  from  the  State,  I  was  willing  to 
give  the  Provisional  Government  a  fair  trial, 
and  I  have  since  rendered  strict  obedience  to 
the  "  powers  that  be,"  and  given  to  Cajsar  the 
things  that  are  Caesar's.  Forced  by  outlaws 
from  my  home  to  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  I  have 
remained  there,  in  quiet  submission  to  all  the 
requirements  of  martial  law,  and  there  I  ex- 
pect to  remain  so  long  as  I  am  protected  and 
there  is  no  protection  from  outlaws  in  my  own 
district. 

This  Convention  was  empowered  by  the  peo- 
ple to  consider  our  relations  to  the  General 
Government,  in  consequence  of  the  secession 
of  several  sister  States.  It  was  the  express 
understanding  of  the  people  that,  if  we,  as  del- 
egates, should  decide  there  was  cause  for  Mis- 
souri to  withdraw  from  the  Union,  we  should 
so  report  to  the  people  for  their  action.  At 
the  first  session,  we  decided  there  was  no  suf- 
ficient cause  of  separation  at  that  time.  We, 
therefore,  fully  discharged  the  trust  delegated 
to  us  by  the  people,  and  should  have  adjourned 
sine  die,  and  so  I  voted,  believing  we  had  no 
further  commission  to  act  for  the  people.  If 
I  was  right,  then  every  subsequent  act  of  this 
Convention  has  been  by  virtue  of  power  as- 
sumed by  the  Convention,  and  not  delegated  by 
the  people.  Whether  I  was  right  or  not,  the 
people  have  so  decided,  and  have  deliberately 
repudiated  every  subsequent  act  j  and  this 
Convention,  after  submitting  their  acts  to  the 
people  for  approval,  went  far  enough  to  see, 
written  in  legible  characters  on  the  wall, 
Mene,  mene,  tekel,  upharstn,  and  with  smiting 
knees,  withdrew  them  from  the  condemnation 
of  the  people.  If  we  admit  that  the  Conven- 
tion could  legally  exercise  powers  other  than, 
those  expressly  delegated  by  the  people,  then, 
we  respectfully  ask,  is  it  not  a  great  abuse  of 
power  to  refuse  to  submit  our  acts  to  them,  be- 
cause, forsooth,  we  know  the  people,  whose 
agents  we  are,  will  repudiate  them. 

Shall  we,  in  this  great  State  of  Missouri,  in 
this  land  of  the  "  West,"  where  liberty  is  sup- 


250 


posed  to  be  as  boundless  as  our  extensive 
country,  proclaim  to  the  world,  after  living 
eighty-six  years  under  the  delusion  that  the 
people  were  capable  of  self-government,  that 
the  "  Declaration"  of  our  fathers  is  false,  and 
the  Constitution  of  our  country  as  worthless 
as  cobweb.  But  yesterday,  on  this  floor,  a 
distinguished  gentleman,  who  acts  with  the  ma- 
jority ol;  this  body,  declared  his  policy  to  be,  if 
I  understood  him,  that  if  the  Constitution  came 
in  the  way  of  this  Convention,  to  break  it  like 
cobweb.  Sir,  is  this  the  kind  of  Government  we 
are  to  have  in  this  "  restored  t/mon"  of  our  fa- 
thers ?  Shall  forty  members  of  this  Convention 
possess  self-perpetuating  power  in  office,  and 
their  will  be  substituted  for  our  Constitution  ? 
Sir,  if  we  thus  disregard  the  Constitution,  what 
limit  is  there  to  our  power  ?  If  we  have  the  pow- 
er to  do  legally  what  we  have  done,  what  is  it  that 
we  could  not  do  ?  We  have  drifted  to  strange 
conclusions,  and  are  upon  an  unknown  and 
stormy  sea.  When  the  mariner  is  cast,  with 
his  bark,  on  the  great  bosom  of  the  ocean,  the 
harder  the  storm  rages  the  closer  he  clings  to 
his  vessel  and  his  compass,  as  the  only  means 
of  safety  and  of  knowing  his  whereabouts, 
and  into  what  breakers  he  is  drifting.  '  So,  in 
the  midst  of  this  great  revolution,  we  ought  to 
cling  to  the  Constitution  and  landmarks  of  our 
fathers,  as  the  only  guide,  that  we  may  know 
where  we  are  drifting,  and  where  we  will  land. 
But,  i(  Oh  !  shame  where  is  thy  blush,"  when 
men  on  this  floor,  and  others,  occupying  high 
positions  on  the  great  ship  of  state,  upon  which 
rest  the  lives  and  destinies  of  our  people,  will 
recommend  the  destruction  of  our  only  safe- 
guard, as  "  cobweb,"  and  trust  our  fate  to  an 
unknown  sea  at  a  time  when  madness  rules  the 
hour  ! 

Thus  I  have  carefully  considered  the  doings 
of  this  Convention,  and  have  felt  it  my  duty  to 
vote  against  every  leading  measure  since  the 
first  adjournment,  believing  they  were  in  vio- 
lation of  the  Constitution  of  the  State,  and  in- 
fringements upon  the  liberties  of  the  people. 
I  have  attended  each  call,  because  I  desired  to 
protest  against  its  unauthorized  action,  and 
share  my  responsibility. 

I  opposed  the  deposing  of  the  officers  of  State 
and  Legislature,  because  I  believed  the  act  un- 
constitutional and  an  unwarranted  assumption 
of  power.  I  refused  to  assist  in  filling  the 
offices  thus  vacated,  because  I  did  not  believe 
that  they  were  constitutionally  vacant,  for  the 
reason  then  given ;  believing  then  that  no  good 
would  result  from  a  Provisional  Government 


and  a  mixture  of  civil  and  military  power.  I 
jelieved  that  the  question  had  to  be  settled  by 
;he  bayonet  and  such  gigantic  armies  as  the 
world  never  before  had  seen.  I  knew  a  Pro- 
visional Government  would  only  complicate 
matters  by  doubling  the  rulers  and  difficulties 
of  the  people  without  corresponding  good ; 
'hat  if  we  must  have  another  Government,  that 
a  strong  Military  Government  would  better 
preserve  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  State, 
supported  by  the  Treasury  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, than  a  Provisional  Government  neces- 
sarily weak,  without  resources,  and  generally 
repudiated  by  the  people.  A  year's  experience 
has  proven  that  I  was  right.  It  has  not  been 
able  to  protect  its  citizens  in  life,  liberty,  or 
property,  and  but  for  the  presence  of  Federal 
forces  could  not  protect  itself. 

The  first  act  of  the  Governor  was  to  proclaim 
pardon  to  all  rebels  that  would  lay  down  their 
arms  and  return  to  their  allegiance.  Have  not 
hundreds  of  them  returned  and  claimed  protec- 
tion under  the  proclamation. 

The  Convention  also  offered  pardon  to  the 
same  class  of  persons,  and  how  have  we  ex- 
tended it?  After  they  have  complied  with  our 
terms,  by  oaths  and  pledges  obtained  from  them 
by  our  mutual  pledges  of  full  pardon  and  pro- 
tection— now  that  we  have  them  bound  hand 
and  foot,  we  have  disfranchised  them,  in 
violation  of  the  solemn  pledges  of  both  the 
Governor  and  Convention,  and  now  laugh  at 
their  folly  and  weakness  in  expecting  the  mercy 
that  we  promised. 

The  tenth  section  of  the  third  Article  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  State  provides  that:  "Every 
free  white  male  citizen  of  the  United  States 
who  may  have  attained  to  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  and  who  shall  have  resided  in  this 
State  one  year  before  an  election,  the  last  three 
months  whereof  shall  have  been  in  the  county 
or  district  in  which  he  offers  to  vote,  shall  be 
deemed  a  qualified  elector  of  all  elective  offi- 
ces," &c.  Yet,  in  addition  to  the  violation  of 
our  pledges  of  pardon,  we  have  disregarded 
our  solemn  oath  to  preserve  inviolate  this  right 
vested  by  the  Constitution. 

Forty  members,  being  a  majority  of  this 
body,  have  further  declared  that  no  one  shall 
run  for  office,  or  vote  at  any  election,  unless 
he  surrenders  his  constitutional  rights  and 
endorses  by  solemn  oath  the  will  of  this  Con- 
vention. 

Article  third  of  the  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  sections 
four  and  five  of  Article  thirteen,  Constitution  of 


251 


Missouri,  alike  prohibit  any  interference  what- 
ever with  the  liberty  of  conscience  and  freedom 
of  religious  sentiment.  In  former  days,  when 
men  in  authority  respected  those  bulwarks  of 
the  rights  of  the  people,  millions  of  the  best 
citizens  of  our  land  daily  thanked  our  Creator 
that  under  our  Government  we  could  "worship 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  an  enlightened 
conscience,  and  none  dared  to  hinder  or  make 
them  afraid."  But  this  Convention,  without 
the  fear  of  the  people  or  God  before  their  eyes, 
possessing  or  usurping  self-perpetuating  powers 
in  office,  have  laid  their  violent  hands  upon 
these  sacred  and  time-honored  constitutional 
guarantees,  and  declared  them  as  "cobwebs" 
in  their  power.  Not  satisfied  with  assuming 
the  powers  of  the  civil  government  of  the 
people,  they  insult  the  God  of  the  Universe  by 
assuming  to  dictate  to  his  people  upon  what 
terms  and  in  what  manner  their  worship  in 
part  will  be  allowed.  Even  ministers  of  the 
sanctuary,  who  have  labored  all  their  lives 
preaching  "  peace  on  earth  and  good  will 
towards  men,"  obeying  all  law  human  and 
divine,  have  been  violently  abused  on  this  floor, 
because,  forsooth,  they  worship  God  according 
to  their  own  will  and  His  laws,  instead  of  the 
will  or  political  creed  of  this  Convention.  So 
violently  are  they  denounced  here,  without 
discrimination  between  good  and  bad,  that  the 
gentleman  from  St.  Louis  (Mr.  Smith)  called 
on  me  yesterday  to  defend  these  unarmed 
preachers.  They  need  no  defence  here — I  mean 
that  portion  that  differs  with  this  body.  Their 
fi  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world  ;"  their  cause 
will  be  plead  in  a  higher  court,  and  not  before 
this  body  as  a  jury ;  and  while  they  will  look 
upon  the  proceedings  of  the  members  of  this 
body  with  mingled  pity  and  regret,  they  will 
petition  an  All-wise  God  to  "forgive  them, 
for  they  know  not  what  they  do."  I  commit 
their  defence  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  has  said 
"  Vengeance  is  mine,  and  I  will  repay." 

With  a  large  religious  element  in  our  State 
thus  troubled  in  their  sacred  rights;  with  at 
least  one  hundred  thousand  voters  disfranchised 
by  the  assumed  authority  of  this  Convention  ; 
and  with  the  prevalent  anti-slavery  feeling 
displayed  in  resolutions  and  speeches  in  this 
house,  showing  clearly  where  the  present 
assumed  custodians  of  the  people's  sovereignty 
were  drifting,  I  voted  to  postpone  the  election 
of  members  of  the  Legislature  and  Congress 
from  August  until  November.  I  believed  that 
an  election  now  would  only  put  upon  the  people 
a  new  swarm  of  hungry  officers  to  eat  out  our 


substance — opposed  to  the  will  of  the  people, 
the  yeomen  of  the  country,  and  necessarily 
Black  Republicans,  hostile  to  the  most  vital 
interest  of  the  State.  The  people  have  no 
power  now  to  avert  it,  and  hence  I  desired  to 
put  off  the  mere  farce  of  an  election,  in  which 
only  the  Black  Republican  or  Abolition  party 
of  the  State  could  participate,  until  sovereignty 
was  again  restored  to  the  people.  I  hope  there 
will  be  no  elections  held  in  the  State  until  free- 
men can  exercise  their  inalienable  rights  under 
the  Constitution,  and  by  virtue  of  their  sove- 
reignty assume  the  reins  of  the  Government. 

I  regret  to  seethe  great  and  vital  interests 
of  the  State  placed  in  the  hands  of  known 
enemies  to  one  of  our  institutions.  I  regret  to 
see  that  abominable  "higher  law"  doctrine  of 
the  abolition  party,  which  prevails  over  and  is 
superior  to  Constitutions,  find  efficient  advo- 
cates upon  this  floor  ;  and  that  schemes  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery  are  boldly  advocated,  in 
violation  of  our  State  Constitution.  If  these 
schemes  succeed — and  I  must  confess  I  see  no 
means  of  averting  them  under  present  rule — our 
State  is  ruined.  The  hardy  yeoman  who  has 
spent  the  prime  and  vigor  of  his  youth  in 
felling  the  forest  and  providing  a  home  for  his 
old  age,  must  now  yield  his  right  of  suffrage, 
then  his  property,  and  finally  his  home. 

And  this,  gentlemen,  is  the  process  by  which 
you  propose  to  "restore  the  Union. "  I  would 
to  God  I  could  see  some  adaptation  of  your 
proceedings  to  the  end  desired.  No  one  desires 
a  restoration  of  the  ancient  order  of  things 
more  than  I  do ;  and  if  I  could  only  persuade 
the  "powers  that  be,"  here  and  elsewhere,  to 
appeal  to  the  hearts  instead  of  the  prejudices 
of  the  people,  and  to  return  to  the  Constitution 
and  teachings  of  our  fathers,  wipe  out  every 
law  of  every  State,  in  violation  of  the  magna 
charta  of  our  liberties,  I  would  then  have  more 
hope  of  success.  A  government  like  ours, 
established  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  never 
can  be  held  together  by  the  bayonet.  The 
tender  chords  of  the  heart  are  never  touched 
except  by  acts  of  kindness,  which  "heap  coals 
of  fire  on  the  head."  If  the  rulers  of  our  land 
could  only  be  checked  in  their  mad  career,  and 
adopt  the  weapon  of  our  fathers,  and  the  im- 
mortal Clay,  of  compromise,  appeal  to  reason 
and  the  memory  of  our  fathers  instead  of  the 
bayonet,  we  should  soon  have  peace  and  pros- 
perity throughout  our  land.  Our  swords  would 
be  beat  into  plowshares,  and  our  spears  into 
pruning-hooks,  and  we  would  learn  war  no 
more. 


252 


Mr.  HALL.  As  many  of  us  are  anxious  to 
get  away  at  half  past  twelve,  and  as  I  think 
the  subject  has  been  sufficiently  discussed  to 
enable  us  to  understand  it,  I  move  the  previous 
question. 

Mr.  HrTCHCOGK.  I  hope  the  gentleman  will 
withdraw  it. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  am  ready  to  vote 
for  the  motion,  but  I  do  not  desire  to  prevent 
further  discussion  if  any  gentleman  wishes. 

Mr.  HALL.  The  only  way  by  which  we  can 
get  to  a  vote  is  to  move  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  I  am  not  willing  to 
have  the  subject  postponed  until  to-morrow  by 
a  failure  to  sustain  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  HALL.    Well,  what  do  you  say  ? 

Mr.  BRECKINRIDGE.  If  the  question  can 
be  sustained,  I  hope  it  will  be  taken. 

Mr.  BIRCH.    I  will  call  the  ayes  and  noes. 

Mr.  HALL.  At  the  request  of  the  gentleman 
from  St.  Louis,  I  will  withdraw  my  motion 
for  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  will  now  offer  the  following 
as  a  substitute : 

fiesolved,  That  the  lateness  of  the  period  for 
the  consideration  of  the  momentous  questions 
alluded  to,  renders  opportunity  for  discussion 
thereon  impracticable  under  the  rule  adopted 
for  closing  the  proceedings  of  this  body,  and 
for  this  and  other  reasons  the  proposition  of 
the  President  and  Congress  is  respectfully 
postponed. 

One  word,  Mr.  President.  First :  I  impute 
nothing  improper  to  the  Governor  at  all.  I 
leave  to  the  Governor  the  consideration  of  his 
duty,  as  I  leave  to  every  member  of  this  body 
the  consideration  of  his  duty.  It  is  incontesti- 
bly  true  that  this  message  has  only  been  laid 
upon  our  table  since  the  adjournment  yesterday 
evening.  This  morning,  in  view  of  the  action 
before  us,  we  solemnly  resolved  that  debate 
should  be  limited  to  five  minutes,  and  I  ask 
now  whether  a  question  of  so  much  magnitude 
and  importance  as  the  one  now  before  us  can 
be  decided  injustice  to  the  people  of  Missouri 
and  to  ourselves  in  five  minute  speeches 
during  the  course  of  this  day.  If  it  can,  then 
let  gentlemen  vote  so.  I  repeat  again,  that  I 
think  I  am  sufficiently  explicit  in  my  feelings 
towards  the  Governor.  I  intend  no  disrespect 
towards  him.  He  may  have  had  good  reasons 
for  not  suggesting  this  on  the  first  day  of  the 
session.  Under  the  resolution  which  cuts  off 
debate  I  am  frank  to  say,  although  I  have 
given  the  subject  a  good  deal  of  consideration, 
I  cannot  give  my  views  upon  the  subject  or 


calmly  reflect  upon  the  matter  as  I  could  wish. 
A  single  word  further  and  I  will  sit  down. 
I  have  been  treated  with  such  eminent  courtesy 
by  this  body,  that  I  do  not  regard  the  present 
confusion  as  arising  out  of  any  disrespect  to 
myself. 

The  PRESIDENT.  Gentlemen  must  preserve 
order. 

Mr.  BIRCH.  I  would  be  impatient  under 
similar  circumstances.  We  are  all  anxious  to 
adjourn,  and  the  surrounding  circumstances 
well  illustrate  how  utterly  impossible  it  is  to 
calmly  consider  and  discuss  this  question  as  it 
deserves  to  be  considered  and  discussed.  My 
proposition  is  a  simple  statement  of  the  truth 
— that  owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  period  and 
the  want  of  time,  we  respectfully  decline  to 
consider  the  subject.  This  will  do  no  one  in- 
justice and  will  do  ourselves  justice. 

Mr.  HALL.  I  renew  my  motion  for  the  pre- 
vious question. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

The  ayes  and  nays  were  demanded,  and  the 
vote  resulted  :  ayes  37,  noes  23,  as  follows  : 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Bogy,  Breckinridge, 
Bridge,  Bush,  Collier,  Douglass,  Eitzen,  Gra- 
velly, Hendricks,  Hitchcock,  Holmes,  How, 
Irwin,  Isbell,  Jackson,  Johnson,  Leeper,  Lin- 
ton,  Long,  Marvin,  McClurg,  McCormack, 
McFerran,  Meyer,  Orr,  Phillip*,  Pomeroy 
Rankin,  Scott,  Shackelford  of  St.  Louis, 
Shanklin,  Smith  of  Linn,  Smith  of  St.  Louis, 
Stewart,  Woolfolk,  and  Vanbuskirk— 37. 

NOES — Messrs.  Bass,  Bast,  Birch,  Brown, 
Calhoun,  Comingo,  Donnell,  Dunn,  Drake, 
Hall  of  Buchanan,  How,  Marmaduke,  Mat- 
son,  McDowell,  Ray,  Ritchey,  Ross,  Sayre, 
Shackelford  of  H.,  Sheeley,  Welch,  Woodson, 
and  Zimmerman — 23. 

So  the  resolutions  offered  by  Mr.  Breckin- 
ridge were  agreed  to. 

Mr.  BROWN.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.) 
In  recording  my  vote  I  would  merely  say, 
that  I  do  not  understand  the  President  or 
Congress  as  requiring  any  response  from  this 
body.  The  emancipation  project  was  recom- 
mended by  the  President  to  Congress,  and  a 
law  passed  merely  to  the  effect,  that  the  Gene- 
ral Government  would  co-operate  with  any 
State  that  might  choose  to  adopt  the  measure  ; 
but  no  response  was  asked  or  expected  from 
this  body  at  the  present  time,  and  should  not 
be  expected  or  given. 

Mr.  HALL  of  Buchanan.  I  have  great  re- 
spect for  the  President  of  the  United  States} 
and  would  do  anything  I  could  consistently 


253 


with  my  views  to  afford  him  gratification,  but 
believing  the  resolution  is  substantially  an  en- 
dorsement of  his  proposition,  I  vote  no. 

Mr.  DUNN.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.) 
Mr.  President — In  order  to  keep  myself  right 
on  the  record,  I  will  state  that  my  position  is 
indicated  by  the  resolutions  which  I  desired  to 
offer  as  a  substitute,  but  which,  under  the 
operation  of  the  previous  question,  were  ruled 
out  of  order.  The  resolutions  which  I  desired 
to  offer  are  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  the  proposition  made  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  to  aid  any 
State  that  may  adopt  a  scheme  of  emancipation, 
is  entitled  to  a  respectful  answer. 

Resolved,  That  the  Convention  declines  to 
accept  the  proposition,  because  the  Convention 
ought  to  confine  itself  to  the  measures  upon 
which  the  people  at  the  time  of  the  election 
expected  them  to  act ;  and  because  the  accept- 
ance of  the  proposition,  in  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  public  mind,  would  produce  excite- 
ment dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the  State. 

Entertaining  these  opinions,  and  dissenting 
from  the  resolutions  under  consideration,  so 
far  as  they  differ  from  these,  lAvill  vote  against 
the  pending  resolutions. 

Mr.  HENDRICKS.  (In  explanation  of  his 
vote.)  I  do  not  think  that  these  resolutions 
are  an  endorsement  of  the  proposition  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  I  therefore 
vote  aye. 

Mr.  McCLURG.  (In  explanation  of  his  vote.J 
As  the  Convention  is  anxious  to  adjourn,  I 
will  give  the  explanation  of  my  vote  to  the  re- 
porter. 

The  following  13  the  explanation  :  I  desire 
for  the  first  time  to  explain  my  vote,  as  the 
"black  snake"  has  been  again  thrown  into 
our  midst,  and  I,  for  one,  have  no  doubt  such 
scenes  as  we  have  witnessed  will  be  repeated 
until  the  fangs  of  the  snake  are  known  to  have 
been  extracted.  I  am  ready  to  vote  accord- 
ingly. We  were  called  together  to  consider 
the  relation  of  this  Government  to  the  General 
Government,  and  to  transact  and  perform 
things  necessary  for  the  direct  and  vital  inter- 


ests of  the  State — of  the  whole  State — this  will 
not  be  denied — not  for  the  supposed  interest 
of  a  few  slaveholders.  We  have  acted  upon  a 
revenue  law,  and  could  very  properly  have 
taken  up  the  subject  of  gradual  emancipation, 
to  be  presented  to  the  people,  for  the  reason 
that  our  credit  as  a  State,  and  I  might  say  in- 
dividuals, depends  upon  it.  But  this  is  not 
now  the  time  to  discuss  that  proposition.  But 
I  take  this  occasion  to  say  that  this  Conven- 
tion, by  their  action,  has  presented  the  ques- 
tion to  the  people.  When  you  attempt  to  stifle 
the  voice  of  a  free  people  they  will  begin  to 
investigate  for  themselves,  and  I  wish  it  to  be 
distinctly  understood  that  I  am  one  of  the 
people ;  and  that  this  question  will  be  present- 
ed to  the  sovereigns  of  the  land,  and  that  I, 
for  one,  will  use  my  utmost  exertions  for  the 
election  of  an  emancipation  General  Assembly 
at  its  next  session,  with  the  fullest  conviction 
that  all  the  material  interests  of  this  State  will 
suffer,  languish,  and  die,  until  the  curse  of 
slavery  be  removed  or  placed  in  a  way  of  gra- 
dual extinguishment.  Slavery,  sir,  is  the 
cause  of  our  being  here,  the  cause  of  having 
been  in  the  first  place  called.  Such  Conven- 
tions have  been  convened  in  no  free  State. 
The  cause  of  the  rebellion  itself  is  slavery,  as 
the  rebellion  has  extended  to  no  free  State.  It 
will  not  be  difficult  to  present  these  and  other 
facts  to  the  people,  and  to  show  them  plainly 
and  unmistakably,  that  the  masses,  by  all  past 
action,  in  this  State,  have  been  laboring  to  up- 
hold for  a  contemptible  few,  an  institution  that 
is  blighting  and  withering  in  its  effects  and 
destroying  the  substance  of  the  many. 

I,  therefore,  have  favored  taking  the  most 
respectful  consideration  of  the  proposition  of 
the  President  and  Congress,  and  therefore 
now  favor  the  report  of  the  majority  committee. 
I,  therefore,  vote  aye. 

The  vote  was  then  announced  as  above. 

The  bill  in  relation  to  the  Register  of  Lands 
was  taken  up  and  passed. 

After  passing  the  customary  complimentary 
resolutions  to  the  officers,  the  Convention  ad- 
journed sine  die. 


VC  36172 


